This is a serious question. It concerns you, and it also concerns your Christian brothers and sisters with whom you fellowship on Sundays and throughout the week.
If you died today, would your family be okay?
I want you to think about this for just a minute.
If you are married, and your wife received word later today that you have been killed in a random accident, would she have to start worrying about money next week?
If you have children, would there be money to care for them without your salary?
For how long?
Or would your wife start worrying about what she would do about money?
“How will I afford to raise the kids?”
Will she have to get a job? What if she hasn’t worked in years because she’s been staying at home–it’s not easy to quickly find a job after being out of the labor force that pays enough to replace her husband’s salary.
Especially in the post-COVID-19 world in which we now live.
Remember the words of the Apostle Paul: “But if someone does not provide for his own relatives, and especially for his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8).
The point is this: you need a term life insurance policy. Do you have one?
They are cheap. I think you need coverage that’s at least 10 times your income. Roughly speaking, that will give your wife 10 years after you are gone to figure out how she’s going to spend the rest of her life without you.
She won’t have to immediately worry about replacing your income.
If you don’t have a policy in place, then here is what you should do today, right now:
Go to PolicyGenius.com right now and get quotes on 20-year level term life insurance policies with coverage that is at least 10 times your present annual income. Look at 30-year policies, too.
Look at how cheap they are.
You will need to enter your email address to complete the process. That’s okay. Do it. This is a lot easier and better than going through several life insurance salesmen who will want to upsell you on an expensive whole life policy.
AFTER YOUR POLICY IS IN PLACE
Once your policy is in place, you will be in a position to help others in your church through the process.
As a deacon, this is your responsibility. There may be no one else in your congregation or denomination who is thinking so carefully about the practical needs of families and members in your church.
Pastors are charged primarily with tending to the spiritual affairs of their flock. Unless he is pastoring a very small congregation in which he serves as pastor and deacon, it is probably his expectation that the deacons handle the more practical affairs.
I want to direct your thoughts to a high-risk group of people you can start contacting on a systematic basis who others may not have thought of: your missionaries.
Missionaries take risks. They move into regions often hostile to Christianity. The greater the influence they start to have there, the bigger a target they become.
Do your missionary families have term life insurance policies in place?
Does anyone know?
Has anyone checked?
If our missionaries are killed, then the church owes it to them to support their families. All sending churches should pitch in. That’s because they must take care of their family.
It would be cheaper now, however, to get a term life policy in place. Paying for monthly level term premiums is a lot cheaper than the alternative in the long run.
I have dedicated a department on my website to the topic of life insurance. It is a very important subject. I recommend that you browse the articles there and read them if you haven’t already.
Then start getting the word out. Once you go through the process of getting a quote and purchasing a policy, you will be able to help others in your congregation do the same thing.
Remember: first, it is our ethical duty before God to take care of our immediate family.
Then, as a deacon, it is your duty to help other members in your congregation fulfill their duties to their families.
Re-read the first part of this email, this time not with yourself in mind, but rather a member of your church.
Would you want to see the face of a wife who just unexpectedly lost her husband also be told that he had no life insurance policy in place?
What will you do?