If you've ever picked up insurance for your health, home, car or life, you've probably come across the term "acts of God." This is a condition of coverage when getting insurance that includes natural calamities or accidents that are not influenced by man which may include hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes and so on.
The popular Christian worldview teaches us to put our faith in God and in His good, pleasing and sovereign will. But does this belief contradict in any way with picking up insurance? If an "act of God" happens, shouldn't we just trust in His sovereign will and let what happens be?
On this topic, I'd like to reference to what Paul has to say in 1Timothy 5:8: "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
The issue Paul faces here might be close to the notion that insurance goes against faith in God. During that time, the church had some issues with Christians who went on believing that a simple confession of faith and believing it in your heart and mind was more than enough to please God and to be provided for.
One can only imagine what the early church might have looked like with this kind of thinking. There would have been unemployed people with no property and preparation of any kind. No wonder some people had to sell their possessions to feed some Christians (Acts 2:45)!
To this Paul responds in 1 Timothy 5:8 that whoever lives simply on a profession of faith actually denies the faith. James goes on to strengthen this thought by saying that "faith without works is dead." (James 2:17)
As well-meaning as it may be to truly trust God and not on insurance, that doesn't necessarily mean that it is wrong to walk in wisdom and purchase insurance for yourself and for your property. We don't ask for theft, accidents, sicknesses or challenges to ever come, but even Jesus warned us that we would face tribulation on this earth.
If your conviction is to walk without insurance, believing that God can and will protect you all throughout, then I admire you for your conviction. But such a conviction is not required and is not always beneficial to all.
Insurance doesn't have to be a functional saviour so as long as we don't allow worry and doubt to start to plague our minds. Insurance, just like any other form of preparation, is simply walking in wisdom to prepare for the worst that may come and not necessarily neglecting God's ability to protect and to provide for us.
