A Biblical View of Insurance Products
While the Bible doesn’t give us many great examples of insurance products specifically, it does talk about how we are to respond to threats. King Jehoshaphat sets a good example in 2 Chronicles 20 (NIV):
Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea... Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard and said: (verses 2-5)
“…We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (verse 12)
Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel… he said: “…This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them… Take up your positions; stand firm.’” (verses 14-17)
After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his love endures forever.” (verse 21)
In this passage, we see three key things that Jehoshaphat does when faced with a threat that we can learn from:
Seek God
Take up your position
Praise God
Seek God
Even for Christians, it can be hard sometimes to remember to go to God first with our troubles. We easily turn to our friends, our mom, Google, worry, etc. when trouble comes our way instead of first turning to God.
But seeking God is the most important thing we can do. We need to seek him first so that we can keep our eyes on him no matter what we end up going through.
This reminds me of the familiar story of Peter walking on the water in Matthew 14. It was when he took his eyes off of Jesus that he became overwhelmed by the storm raging around him and began to sink.
Keeping his eyes on Jesus didn’t get rid of the storm, but it kept him secure in the midst of the storm.
Arm Yourself
The next thing that Jehoshaphat did was to have his army prepare for battle and take up their positions. In this case, they didn’t end up needing to fight, but they were prepared to.
This is where insurance products come in. In our modern day, we don’t need to take up swords and shields to protect ourselves from invading armies. But we do need to protect ourselves from illness, disability, car wrecks, and natural disasters.
The weapons we use to fight these (in addition to healthy habits and safe driving) are insurance products and emergency funds.
There are two main arguments I hear against the use of insurance products.
The first is that the money spent on insurance premiums would provide a greater return if invested and is therefore a waste of money. It’s true, insurance premiums use money that could be invested for growth.
But that doesn’t make them a waste. They are a good defense. You need both offense and defense to win.
A great example of this can be found in Nehemiah. The people of Israel were trying to rebuild the walls but enemies kept coming and attacking them. This is how Nehemiah solved the problem:
From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked.
Nehemiah 4:16-18
Did having weapons in their hands slow the progress of building the wall? Yes. Did having weapons in their hands enable them to continue building the wall? Yes. If you only focus on building without taking the time to protect that which you’ve already built, you could lose it all.
The second argument I hear is that owning insurance products shows a lack of faith and trust in God.
God is the one who protects us and keeps us safe, but he often asks us to step up and participate. That’s why he told Jehoshaphat to have his army march down and take up their positions and Nehemiah to arm his men.
Praise God
Jehoshaphat’s army began to praise God before they reached the other army and realized they wouldn’t have to fight. They began to praise him while marching through the dust, under the hot desert sun, expecting to enter into hand-to-hand combat with a ruthless enemy.
In the New Century Version, 2 Chronicles 20:21 is translated as, “to praise him because he is holy and wonderful.” Even before we know the results, before we know if the threats we face will materialize, even before we know what God will do, we can praise him because of who he is. And so we should.
The Bible is full of examples of how we are to face threats. The most important thing we can do is to turn to God but he also asks us to arm ourselves in preparation. Instead of just focusing on how we can build our wealth or be generous with what we have, it is crucial that we consider any potential dangers to our personal finances and how we can arm ourselves against them. As Proverbs 22:3 (NCV) says, “The wise see danger ahead and avoid it, but fools keep going and get into trouble.”
You may find it helpful to partner with an experienced professional as you consider possible threats to your financial situation and the insurance products that serve as weapons to fight them. All of our advisors at the Christian Financial Advisor Network offer expert advice in the area of insurance. None of our advisors sell insurance products or earn commissions, so you can trust that the advice they provide is in your best interest. You can learn more about our advisors and reach out to them here.
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