If the End is Near, Should I Save for the Future?
Thoughts about your 401(k), the last days, and planning for retirement
The following is adapted from Tipping Point, the latest Bible prophecy book from Jimmy Evans. Preorder Tipping Point here to receive a signed copy.
A few years ago, a young man approached me after I had been preaching on the end times. At his workplace, his employer was giving him the option of contributing to a 401(k), which is a savings vehicle for retirement. This young man knew it was important to plan for the future. But he also wondered if, in light of the Second Coming, that type of savings was an unwise use of money.
“What should I do?” he asked.
I don’t get asked for financial planning advice very often. Before I tell you how I answered, let me tell you a fascinating, historical story the young man’s question brought to mind.
Abraham Davenport and New England’s Dark Day
History remembers May 19, 1780, as New England’s “Dark Day.” George Washington and the Continental Army were still fighting in the Revolutionary War. Camped with his troops in New Jersey, Washington noted how the weather had been strange for several days. The sun had appeared to be red. The skies had grown yellowish and the clouds the color of rust. In his diary on May 18, he wrote about dark, ominous, “heavy and uncommon kind of clouds.”
On the morning of May 19, the clouds grew even darker. Fog and a shadowy sky settled across the region. By noon, the sun had been completely obscured, as if day had become night. Indoor workers took lunch by candlelight. Outdoor laborers struggled to see their work. Birds returned to their nests, farm animals reacted in terror, and commerce and stores began to shut down. Citizens speculated about the cause. Many wondered if they were experiencing the judgment of God. Had the sun been darkened? Was this the first sign of the Second Coming of Christ?
The state legislature was meeting that day in Connecticut. As the darkness grew, members of the governing body became uneasy. One legislator made the motion to adjourn their meeting, saying that everyone should return to their homes and families to prepare for the end of the world.
That’s when a 65-year-old councilman and militia colonel named Abraham Davenport stood up to calm the members. “I am against adjournment,” he said in a stirring speech. “The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause of an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought.”
Aides brought in candles and the meeting continued. The world did not end and the skies eventually cleared. Meanwhile, Davenport was hailed as a great hero and leader. The 19th century poet John Greenleaf Whittier even wrote a poem about the councilman’s resolve, noting how “simple duty hath no place for fear.”
Historians later determined that the darkness was the result of extensive forest fires in Ontario, Canada, which the wind had blown south into New England.
Should we plan for tomorrow?
This brings me to my answer to the young man. If the end is near, should we carry on with our daily business? Should we make wise financial decisions about the future? Or should we simply hunker down with our families, preparing for the apocalypse and awaiting Christ’s return?
I believe we should follow the example set by Abraham Davenport. When Christ returns, “I choose to be found doing my duty.”
In other words, hope for Christ’s return, but do the right thing today. Live as if you will experience a full life on earth. Go to school. Get married. Have children. Spend wisely and save responsibly. Contribute to your 401(k) or otherwise plan for retirement.
Live your life for the honor and glory of God. Do your duty—but do it with a constant awareness that the Day of the Lord may arrive at any moment, like a thief in the night.
We need to seek God not man for directions regarding our life. Jesus came to do the WILL of the Father and we need to be found doing His will. Noah knew what to and he prepared. God's chosen people do God's will and He is preparing His chosen people for the tribulation. If you aren't hearing God's Voice personally on how to prepare for His Kingdom and the tribulation, then I would be extremely concerned for your salvation and protection.
Matthew 24:37-39
37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Matthew 24:19-21
19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.