Christian view on Life insurance, do or don’t

Angelique · May 1, 2018

I want to take a life insurance, so when I die my family won’t have financial problems.
I having mixed feelings about this.

Is having a life insurance not trusting God, that he will always provide? Is it preparing for the worst thing to happen and not living in faith?

About me:
I am having physical and mental problems for years. And while it normally goes with up and downs, this down is taking more time and I get a little scared. So I will have a save feeling knowing my family are taken care of financally if things go wrong in the future. If you like to pray for me, prayers are appreciated and welcome.

NotmebutHim · May 1, 2018

I think that ultimately, we have to trust God to be our Provider. However, He will in many cases prompt or lead us to do things to "bring about" the provisions He has already planned for us.

craigb9876 · May 1, 2018

Well i would say that if god is the creator of all things then he also created health insurance so i see no reason not to buy it because he probably put it there for your protection

BillG · May 1, 2018

I have life insurance in place should I die. Well for when I die.
So does my wife. It's via a joint policy.

We have 4 kids. 3 teenagers and 1 at university.
Possibly 3 going.

To be honest I don't think in general today the church provides for widows and kids when a spouse dies.

Yes in one sense my heart says God will provide.
Yet it's done through the church and it's members.
But members are taught to give to the church but in general it's not set aside to provide for members in its church.
Money is used for different purposes (not saying it is wrong but it could be)

So if I died tomorrow my wife and kids have finances in place that provides but also they are not a burden on the church, and vice versa.

So for me I look at it as good stewards today.

The thing is that in Jesus time and before that there was no such thing as life policies.
So it was incumbent for those around to provide.

So today if we can afford to pay for life insurance or into a pension then thank God.

If cannot then trust God to provide. He promised to meet all our needs (not saying needs should be extravagant)
The same in ancient times and today as well.

Depleted · May 1, 2018

Angelique said:

Are you the bread-winner for your family? If so, then get life insurance until they can figure out what to do after you're gone.

Are you not the bread-winner? Then don't think life insurance is any help or comfort to them. BUT it does help as far as not having to raise up the amount of money to give you the funeral they'd want to give you. I think funerals cost $7000 now. That's a lot of money needed.

Hubby and I can't afford life insurance, nor a funeral. (We figured out how to get around funeral all together, so not a problem.) And we did buy life insurance when we were young, but through work, so we had to keep giving money each month without it being saved for anything, but the insurer's pocket. There are two kinds of insurance. One kind just gets paid into and adds nothing, unless you die. The other kind is something like a savings account, but without interest.

If we had it to do over again, (which wouldn't have worked, because we had to spend even our retirement money when both of our healths failed), we'd set up a special savings account just to put money in, under the assumption that would be a life insurance account. A do-not-spend-unless-one-of-us-dies account. Had we done that young, (and been able to keep it lol), the interest alone would have been funding it for the last 10-20 years without ever needing to add more.

I'm all for saving money for the worst life can throw at us. I'm all for life insurance to help family after we die. However, do some investigation, and I suspect you can fund it better yourself rather than just keep giving an insurance company your money. After all, they're banking on you not dying for a long time, and they're making profit on that concept.

BillG · May 1, 2018

Depleted said:

Are you the bread-winner for your family? If so, then get life insurance until they can figure out what to do after you're gone.

Are you not the bread-winner? Then don't think life insurance is any help or comfort to them. BUT it does help as far as not having to raise up the amount of money to give you the funeral they'd want to give you. I think funerals cost $7000 now. That's a lot of money needed.

Hubby and I can't afford life insurance, nor a funeral. (We figured out how to get around funeral all together, so not a problem.) And we did buy life insurance when we were young, but through work, so we had to keep giving money each month without it being saved for anything, but the insurer's pocket. There are two kinds of insurance. One kind just gets paid into and adds nothing, unless you die. The other kind is something like a savings account, but without interest.

If we had it to do over again, (which wouldn't have worked, because we had to spend even our retirement money when both of our healths failed), we'd set up a special savings account just to put money in, under the assumption that would be a life insurance account. A do-not-spend-unless-one-of-us-dies account. Had we done that young, (and been able to keep it lol), the interest alone would have been funding it for the last 10-20 years without ever needing to add more.

I'm all for saving money for the worst life can throw at us. I'm all for life insurance to help family after we die. However, do some investigation, and I suspect you can fund it better yourself rather than just keep giving an insurance company your money. After all, they're banking on you not dying for a long time, and they're making profit on that concept.

Insurance.

Detest paying for it.
But when you need it we are thankful we have it.

If the investment is good then great, if not we feel ripped off.

Miri · May 1, 2018

I don’t have any particular view on life insurance. However I set up an
account for my aunt and we have saved up enough to cover her funeral costs.

Shes 83 and in poor health, she didn’t want to burden anyone with funeral costs.
It could be argued that God provided the money for that savings account in the
first place, as He certainly did that.

maxwel · May 1, 2018

Well, instead of getting bogged down in paradoxes about the will of God, we could just reduce this whole argument to some logical questions which are very simple, and which don't threaten anyone's religions views.

Questions:

1. Do you expect to live forever on earth in your current body, or do you expect to die one day?

2. If you expect to die one day, do you happen to know, in advance, when that day will be?

3. When that day comes, whenever it is, would you, or would you not, like your family to get some extra money?

Sometimes things become simple when we strip away all the murky theorizing.

Depleted · May 2, 2018

BillG said:

When we had life insurance, it was for $10,000 and had to be paid monthly. At the time, that payment was $17, but we were on the young side of middle-aged. (I was in my 30s and he was in his 40s.) And, there was no cash back, unless we died. Every 5 years, the amount we paid went up by $5, and we paid extra because we both smoked.

Fast forward to I'm 62 now and he's 71. (The old side of middle-age. lol) I still smoke, he doesn't. BUT he had a heart attack. Last I checked, (and I haven't checked in about 15 years), we'd each be paying $175 a month for that same $10,000. Yeah, that really is a ripoff. There is another type of life insurance that people can cash out of. Won't get the full $10,000, but would get a few thousand, once you paid in the whole $10,000. That's the better insurance, and doesn't cost as much.

Depleted · May 2, 2018

Miri said:

You might want to up that policy, because you have that second problem, when she's gone. You're going to need a new start.

Pilkington · May 3, 2018

I have life insurance, well I have had two, one which would have paid of the mortgage if I became terminally ill or died. I need to cancel that one. I also have one which costs £22 pounds a month, will stay the same amount through out the duration of the insurance, if I die before our son is 21 my beneficeries will receive nearly £400,000 as my husband is disabled he would be able to afford to provide for himself and our son. If we both die, my friend would be able to afford to bring our son up. I am the principle breadwinner for the family
Ultimately I trust God, but God has given us the ability to earn money and to provide for our families. It is not about not trusting God.

Jeshuvan · May 3, 2018

no its not lack of trust,its quite wise to do that
and biblical.But remember our rewards are in heaven

Angela53510 · May 13, 2018

We had life insurance since our children were small. Neither of us made enough on our own to care for the children. It was worth it, even though we had a zero bank balance, to know that the other wouldn’t have to struggle and the children suffer if one of us passed away.

When I went onto disability, my premiums were paid for. That ends this year. I think when my husband hit 55, his premiums tripled. So, we had enough put aside and we cancelled his insurance. Now, we both have pensions, part of which reverts to the other, in the event of death. We get a bit less, but it is worth it having peace of mind.

I cannot understand why you would not take out life insurance if you can afford it. Trusting God does not mean that you do not provide for yourself and your family. And that includes after death.

OneFaith · May 18, 2018

On the cross Jesus made sure His mother would be taken care of after His death. What you're saying is like God giving you money to buy groceries, but you are waiting by faith that they will automatically appear in your fridge. Faith without action is dead. If God put on your heart to provide for your family after you pass someday, and the means to do it, then it is good to do. Life insurance does not insure your life will be replaced lol, it ensures that those who were financially dependant on you will still be provided for- that is living and kind.

OneFaith · May 18, 2018

OneFaith said:

Typo- that was supposed to end with "loving and kind", by the time I noticed it was too late to change it. I wish they'd give us more time.

Nehemiah6 · May 30, 2018

Angelique said:

It's like asking "Is working at a job not trusting God?" God expects us to work and provide for our families, and life insurance is provision for families when the breadwinner (or both parents) is/are no longer there. Faith also means believing what God has said in His Word.

Gman · May 30, 2018

Is just like health insurance if you can afford it you should get it it has nothing to do with lack of faith or trust in God. God did say that we should provide for our families (I'm pretty sure it's written that whoever does not provide for their family is worse than an unbeliever) and while God does provide for us he does so through us and others therefore it is wise to have life insurance and Healthcare and a savings account and an emergency fund. You should look to have enough life insurance to cover your funeral costs should that occurs unexpectedly plus 3, 5 or even 10 times your annual contribution to your family if you can afford it, that'll allow for the grieving process and allow them enough time to transition into the new living situation.

mcubed · May 30, 2018

Yes, everyone should get life insurance. It is for the family not us. There is a day in which we shall die and when were dead our family needs money, especially if you are now the "bread winner" for your family because once your dead you will not make any more income.

AngelFrog · May 30, 2018

Angelique said:

One could always consider that it was God that inspired the idea of life insurance so that even when we're passed from this life, our loved one's will not suffer financially for that.

The type of life insurance I'd recommend is written by either Met Life or United Liberty. Term life insurance with an annuity rider provides your loved one's the best protection. Hubby use to sell LI. This Google source will help you to review what Term Life is , as well as annuity rider. LINK
When we pass on someone has to make the arrangements for our body. Be it burial or cremation. Is it fair to have no policy in force that absorbs the burden of that expense for them? Funerals are very expensive now days. May your loved one's not need the proceeds of a LI policy on your behalf for a great many years.

Blessings.

Dan58 · May 31, 2018

Angelique said:

Deciding to get insurance has nothing to do with trusting God. We trust God for our salvation, not to take financial responsibility for what we should be responsible for ourselves. Its like saying that you won't buy groceries for your kids because your trusting God to feed them, or you won't take a family member to a doctor because you have faith that God will heal them. Taking action today to secure your families financial future is being a responsible adult. I'd recommend whole life instead of term life.. jmo

Christian view on Life insurance, do or don’t

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