There was time when insurance was looked upon by Lutherans about as favorably as holding a high stakes poker game in the sanctuary. And now there is Thrivent (a Lutheran fraternal insurance company for those reading outside the Lutheran circle), a behemoth of an insurance company with mostly Lutheran clientele.  It is another one of those issues in the church that went from forbidden to never questioned in a relatively short period of time, from sermons and articles condemning it to representatives in every church promoting it. It used to be that insurance was viewed as a sure sign of lack in trust in God and now is unquestionably celebrated as good stewardship.
Much like other issues of this nature, I simply think we ought to stop to think about what we are doing rather than simply chuckling at what seems like over-pious restraint in former generations. We should not simply embrace so quickly ideas that our ancestors rejected based on convictions rooted in faith. We must subject our own ideas to the scrutiny of the scripture. And perhaps even more profoundly we must allow God promises to shape how we live. So here are some principles we must consider next time the agent calls or our financial planner suggests a product to insure our happy and glorious futures.
- We are encouraged time and time again to not worry about tomorrow, but to live day by day.
Matthew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Luke 12:22-23 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
James 4:13-14 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”-Â yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
- God has promised to provide for our needs. Yes, even without our preparations.
Psalm 145:16 You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
- We are ultimately to place our trust in the Creator and not in any creation.
Psalm 20:7-8 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.
Psalm 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
Certainly we do have a few examples of planning ahead (like Joseph in Egypt), but it seems to me in my reading of scripture that the scriptures lean towards daily trust in the Lord as the general principle.
In general, these two things are to be said. We are to be content and not covetous. So often our planning gives evidence of our dissatisfaction with what God has already given. We plan to make a better life where we can sit back, eat, drink, and be merry. Secondly, our trust cannot be in these things ultimately. At best, we use them as tools that God has provided. It is very easy to just say, “Yes. that is what I am doing,” But what if tomorrow you found out that your insurance was gone. Would you heart be in great fear for your future?  If so, where is your fear, love, and trust resting? Could you say with Job, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” Or would you run to the nearest financial planner pleading for new and better insurance?
This confession must be at the heart of all we do: there is only One who can truly insure for us the provision of all we need.
Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
In full disclosure, I have insurance of various kinds. I am simply trying to think this out in the same ways I am encouraging you to do. I would treasure you scriptural thoughts and reasoning on this issue.
I’ve always been intrigued by this debate, because I don’t feel I know the right answer. I have a pretty cheap term life policy to ensure that my wife is financially able to be a full-time mother to our children if something happens to me, and I spend less on that annually than I do on cable.
Does this mean that I am not trusting God, or is it a case of recognizing that God gave me the sense not to close my eyes while I walk blindly off the edge of a cliff?
What about saving up for retirement? I think we just heard the passage this weekend where the prosperous man was admonished for storing up treasures on earth when he had a good crop. Does this indicate that we shouldn’t put aside retirement funds? Retirement didn’t really exist 2,000 years ago, so maybe it is not fair to relate this story to the concept of modern retirement. The man in this story was storing up so he wouldn’t have to work, even though he was still able to work.
Hey Phil,
This was a interesting post. I just read a book entitled, Amish Peace. The Amish do not have insurance of any type b/c they adhere to the complete sovereignty of God. I am not saying they have it all right, or figured out (and I am no where close to knowing the “best” answer), but it is cool to see someone’s convictions lived out. However, the Amish have something that most of us do not have anymore….family, neighbors and churches that take care of each other in times of crisis and need the likes of which are incredibly tight, supportive and put others first rather than themselves.
@Andy- I recently read an exegesis of Luke’s parables by Kenneth Bailey, a Christian Arab who did a lot of research in modern peasant villages to get a better sense of the cultural components of Jesus’ parables. The rich fool had a lot of social responsibility expectations that weren’t being fulfilled- e.g. he said to himself, “Self, I will build…” vs the expected role as a rich person in the village to be a leader and sit at the gates with others. He should have shared his wealth with others and the eating/drinking/being merry should have been done in community. (See a parallel of this in the parable of the lost sons (usually referred to as the parable of the prodigal son) where the father throws a party for the whole village when his son returns.
We choose to hold life insurance as well – both for ourselves and for our children. The parental policies were set up with the intention that the surviving spouse would be able to provide for the children as they currently are (my husband has a larger policy since he’s the main income in our house and I raise and school the children – my policy is enough to cover daycare, both together to go to their guardians for their upbringing should we die simultaneously). The children’s policies were set up as a sort of gift to them – before I realized the foolishness of this plan.
The kids’ plans aside, we looked at our policies as a way to provide for our children should God desire to call us home before they were adults. Just as we currently provide for their home, food, clothing and spiritual needs, these policies would take care of their material needs and their guardians would take care of their spiritual ones.
Unfortunately, my husband and I have seen the underbelly of the church. We know that, while she should step up and care for the orphans and fatherless and others in her throng, she’s also full of sinful humans who don’t always apply the Bible outside that hour on Sunday. Where we were when we bought those policies – they would have been cast aside. Where we are now? I’m not sure it’s necessary. But I also know their guardians will take them in no matter what – and would also be going from scraping by on 2 incomes and no kids yet to an instant family of 2 (3) kids. So we continue the policy to make sure that their care in a difficult time would not also become a major stressor or leave their guardians (and them) homeless.
After writing this, I read an interesting article at this site:
http://www.bethelministries.com/INSURANCE.htm
I am not sure I can agree with all of this, but the suggestion that we need not view poverty or calamity as intrinsically evil is another valid point we should consider. thanks for all the thoughts. Still thinking myself.