Jesus clearly had an emergency fund. Where do you think he got the extra fishes and loaves?

Another good verse on this is Proverbs 21:20

http://www.ebible.com/bible/Proverbs%2021%3A20

In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil,
but a foolish man devours all he has.

I wonder about this sometimes. But I completely agree with you about the 2nd point, that Jesus wouldn’t see the emergency fund as something that could protect him from all catastrophes. And that he taught against having faith in money or investments.

It depends on who you think Jesus is. If you think he is God then he would not need an emergency fund because he would know what was going to happen and could change anything to his liking. If he was only human then he would have an emergency fund out of wisdom, planning for the unknown.

Excellent post, and I do believe you’re right. I think Jesus would have had an emergency fund, but he wouldn’t put his trust in it. Jesus wouldn’t want to go into debt in the event of a financial emergency, and he would also know that nobody is immune to financial problems.

On the other hand, he wouldn’t put his faith in the emergency fund. I think Jesus’ view would be that it’s prudent to be prepared, but ultimately God is in control and you need to rely on Him to sustain you.

As a Christian, I trust that God will not send me more trials than I can bear, and that he will provide for me. That does NOT absolve me of responsibility of taking care of myself and my family. He has provided the means for me to accumulate an emergency fund, and as you quote “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.“

Great comments everyone!!
@Michael
I was wondering where they came from!!

Maybe Jesus could just ask his Dad for money if he needed it?

Liked your post, added you to my bloglog.

Ernesto,

@debtdieter:
ROFL. That is just tooo funny.

Just a few thoughts…

In Matthew, Christ is clearly talking to “Pharisees” who put their trust in “things” and not in God. Our faith, whether we are wealthy or poor, should always be in Christ. That being said, some of the great blessings that we have been given, as human beings, are the abilities to work, plan, and prepare.

(Remember when Christ sent the Disciples to get the colt, so that he could ride it into Jerusalem. To me, this is clear evidence that “He had a plan” - He had resources, in place, to be used at a time of need.)

NCN

Would Jesus really need one? I mean, he is Jesus after all. The rest of us, sure…but Jesus?

Great article & a topic I don’t see mentioned very often. I think that moderation and perspective are the key. It’s wise to save & be prepared, but keep in mind that God is still in charge of ALL things & ALL situations. No amount of money in the bank should take away your reliance on Him. It’s really about balance & faith. If you have $50K in savings and die tomorrow, do you think God is more likely to say “Awesome- glad you were prepared for any emergency” or “Lot of good that money does you know, too bad you didn’t give it to missions or give it to church or use it while you were on earth to do my will.”

At some level it’s about personal conviction and what you feel is right for you to save, without hording or squandering “investment opportunities” in the kingdom. The Randy Alcorn book- God, Possessions & Eternity has some great info on things like this.

No way Jesus would have an emergency fund. Even though he was fully man, he was also fully God. So he knew what the future held and has the the entire universe at His disposal.

But us? We have no clue what tomorrow brings. So in our human-ness , we save and store for the unexpected, which is also wise, given our lack of “future-knowledge”.

Look at Matthew 6:26:

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

My interpretation? If your faith is in the Lord, he will provide for you regardless of whether you have an emergency fund or not.

@Amanda D
Good points - you reminded me of an interview where Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Life author) said that he believes it is a sin to DIE rich. His point was, what good does millions of dollars in the bank do when you die? This was refreshing to see given that he has made quite a few millions I am sure, but his plan is to use what God has entrusted him with to benefit others rather than hoarding up treasures that he can’t take with him.

I think some people are missing the point. Obviously, being God, Jesus didn’t *need* an emergency fund. He didn’t need to do a lot of things that He did while on earth. I think that Jesus would have had an emergency fund to model to us that being prepared is a good thing. Cool post idea, by the way

What about poor people who foresee danger but lack the financial resources to take precautions? Are they prudent, simpleton, or something else?

In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil,
but a foolish man devours all he has.
———————————————

So if a poor person is not able to save, he’s foolish???

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New here - just stumbled across this site.
I ask myself this question all of the time. I just can’t build up a huge (over $5000) savings when my brothers are in Honduras and India, needing every extra dollar they can get to bring water, food, and the message of Jesus to orphans and widows. If I encountered disaster and ran out of money tomorrow, I’d have to move my family in with our extended family. When they run out, people die. Then again, the two leftover aluminum windows in my house with cracked panes (from the cold) really ought to be replaced, requiring 50% of my current savings. But, hey, I’ll still have 50% left, and every scientist knows that half-lives can go on indefinitely, right?

I just found this site. I like this site!!

[…] PF asks if Jesus would have an emergency fund - I would have to say no because, well, he is […]

It’s kind of silly to debate whether Jesus would have an emergency fund or not. The simple fact is he didn’t. Money wasn’t invented yesterday. It existed in Jesus’ time. And yet nowhere in Scripture does it mention Jesus’ emergency fund. So would he have one? No. He didn’t have one when he was here the first time; I don’t think he would have one today.

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[…] presents Would Jesus have an emergency fund posted at Christian Personal Finance. Discussing the balance between trusting God for our needs and […]

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Godly Family - December 7, 2007…

Welcome to the December 7, 2007 edition of Godly Family. I’m sorry this is so late! I’ll have to do a better job making sure I have my calendar set up!

Christine presents Me, My Kid and Life: The Single Mom and The Cost o…

Of course Jesus had an emergency fund! The bible even records him as using it when the tax man came calling; though I’d think, for the rest of us, stuffing your money inside a fish is even sillier than under your mattress. *grin*

Seriously, yeah, he’s God, but he’s also the Second Adam; fully man as well as God. In addition to dying for our sins, he came to set an example, and as such did some things that aren’t really necessary for the God nature (eat, sleep, pay taxes . . .) BTW, while on Earth, the Son relied not on his own power, but on the same Holy Spirit available to us. In that, He Himself modeled relying not on your own strength (even though His was truly sufficient) but on His Spirit.

But we know they had funds laid up; otherwise Iscariot wouldn’t have had anything to steal, would he?

[…] presents Would Jesus have an emergency fund posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “Discussing the […]

[…] presents Would Jesus have an emergency fund posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “Discussing the […]

What about a retirement fund? That seems to be a bigger issue than emergency funds. How far does being a wise steward go? This is an ongoing debate between my wife and I. What is a Christian perspective on retirement and saving for retirement?

@Crossn81
You know, it is a tough question to answer, that I don’t think there is a clear cut answer for. Like previously mentioned, I think the key is where you place your trust. Obviously, if your trust is in anything other than God, you are in trouble. But, on the other hand, Proverbs is loaded with scriptures about the wisdom of preparation and the foolishness of not being prepared.

Another angle is the grace factor that we have as part of the new covenant - so I don’t know, those are just my thoughts on it. But, the conclusion that I came to was that I should save for retirement. I am going to do my best to keep from trusting in it - which reminds me of another proverb about riches make themselves wings and fly away… anyway enough rambling for now…

Nice post - stimulating thoughts for my wife and I.

Great posts. I am glad I came across this site. My brother and I recently had a discussion very similar to this.

After reading through the New Testament I came up with the following conclusion:

Apparently Jesus had a tresurer by the name of Judas. John 13:29 shows Judas holding the bag. So I would think that shows He would have had an emergency fund. I doubt He had a treasurer for Himself but for the disciples.

In the Good News Bible, John Chapter 13:29 says this “Since Judas was in charge of the money bag, some of the disciples thought that Jesus had told him to go and buy what they needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor.”

That, in my opinion; shows that Judas was the treasurer for the disciples. It shows that they had a money bag and it was used to help the poor or to use for festivals. Having a money bag shows, in my opinion anyway, that they saved money.

My King James version of the same chapter and verse says this: “For some of them thought, because “Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.”

@Duke
That is a nice piece of insight - thanks for sharing