By Chuck Reber

Why can’t I ever seem to get around to preparing?

I remember a funny song by the gospel group, the Kingsmen, entitled, Excuses. The chorus says:

Excuses, excuses, you'll hear them every day.
And the Devil he'll supply them, if the church you stay away.

When people come to know the Lord, the Devil always loses
So to keep them folks away from church, he offers them excuses.

This song may be about excuses that people use to keep them away from attending church, but I’ve run into a lot of excuses that people use for not preparing. Of course the two groups that seem to frustrate me the most are first family members, followed in a close second by co-workers. Even when you explain why you are preparing, and can convince them that you are not planning on going to a mountain to await the end of the world, getting them to start prepping can seem like a monumental task.

Wise old Solomon said, “There’s nothing new under the sun;” and there’s nothing new about the excuses not to prepare. Over the last five years think I’ve heard them all. I’ve narrowed the list down to four main excuses I run into in trying to get people to see the wisdom of preparedness. Here are the top four excuses for not preparing:

1. Labels. People are afraid of being labeled as a “survivalist” or a “doomsday prepper.” It’s a case of guilty by association. Just because mainstream media has slapped a negative definition on preppers, that doesn’t excuse me from the responsibility to care for my family in times of disasters and crisis. What is survivalist, really? And a Prepper?

I went to Wikipedia to look up the definition of survivalism and here’s what I found:

Survivalism is a movement of individuals or groups (called  survivalists  or  preppers) who are actively preparing  for emergencies, including possible disruptions in social or political order, on scales from local to international. Survivalists often acquire emergency medical and  self-defense  training, stockpile food and water, prepare to become  self-sufficient, and build structures (e.g., a  survival retreat  or an  underground shelter) that may help them survive a  catastrophe.

Gee, by this definition FEMA should be considered a survivalist organization! They meet all the requirements, including self-defense training. But when disaster strikes people can’t wait for FEMA to run to their aid with all their stored up supplies so they can survive the disaster. Enough said. How about Prepping?

Prepping - - the action or process of preparing something, or preparing for something: Chiefly North American the practice of making active preparations for a possible catastrophic disaster or emergency, typically by stockpiling food, ammunition, and other supplies: prepping is a way of life and there is always something new to learn, tasks to do, and gear to purchase. (Oxford Dictionary)

Don’t let the fear of people’s opinions or labels stop you from making wise preparations to care for your family and loved ones in times of crisis. “The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that.” (Proverbs 29:25 The Message)

2. Procrastination. Some folks just never seem to get around to it. Good intensions seem to always get waylaid by the urgency of the now. The procrastinator, at the core, really believes that there is still plenty of time to prepare for disaster.

Their normalcy bias causes them to live under the assumption that a disaster has never happened here yet, so what are the chances of disaster or a crisis striking in the near future?  They tend to interpret every warning with as much optimism as possible.

Two words of counsel for the procrastinator: 1) Do some research on current events and trends and you will clearly see the urgency of the hour and the need to act now to make preparations for your family. The longer you wait the more costly and scarce the products will become. 2) Do a study in the book of Proverbs on the sluggard and listen to the exhortations and warnings. Take it to heart, pray about it and ask the Lord to help you get moving. (See – Pr 6:6-9; 13:4; 19:24; 20:4; 21:25; 22:13; 24:30; 26:14; 26:16).

3. Overwhelmed. Usually characterized by the statement, “But I just don’t know where to start!” I call it the paralysis of analysis. The more they look at all the various areas they need to prepare for in order to sustain their family in crisis, the more overwhelmed they feel. Some folks not only tend to over-analyze, but have a more perfectionist bent that causes them to either do it exactly right or they don’t do it at all.

Well the cure for the overwhelmed does not take a lot of analysis nor does it require perfection. Simply make a plan and stick with it. This plan should include not only material commodities you need, but also skill sets you need to acquire or knowledge you need to gain. Find a friend who in interested in prepping and work together, a like-minded friend can be a great motivator. Embrace preparedness as a lifestyle not as a trend or fad and it will become a way of life for you.

4. Cost. “I can’t afford all this stuff. It will break our budget to do this!” Overwhelmed and I can’t afford it, share similar concerns and have similar solutions to their dilemmas. When I do my one-day preparedness seminars it’s not unusual to hear comments at the conclusion about needing to take out a loan or a second mortgage to buy everything.

Here is the counsel I give them: First decide how long you will need supplies for. I suggest you start small with planning for 1 week’s worth of supplies. Second, sit down and write out the various areas you need to get supplies for, like, water, food, medical, sanitation, lighting, etc.

Third, under each heading make a detailed list of the items necessary for you and your family to sustain life for one week in a disaster. This becomes your master list that you will shop from.

Next, decide on how much money you can budget each week toward the purchase of these supplies. Finally, take you money and your list and start buying the items you need and checking them off your list. In a few months you will have reached your goal. Then, using that same list, make a few additions start to work on getting a 1-month supply of goods.

It’s that simple. Really. No excuses.

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