Perhaps more than anywhere else in the world, many Americans start their working careers with one thought prominently in their minds: retirement. “How long will I have to work before I can retire?” and “How much money will I need for retirement?” are questions they ponder.
I recently read about a woman, nearly 40 years into her professional career, who said she has been saving for her retirement since she was 18 years old. She’s now starting to wonder whether the funds she has accumulated, even supplemented by Social Security, will be enough when she does retire.
It’s interesting that, even though the Bible speaks clearly and directly on many topics pertaining to everyday life, one subject it says very little about is retirement. The Scriptures use the word “retire” numerous times, but almost exclusively in terms of going to bed for the night or departing from a particular place. Only once does it address retiring in terms of one’s daily work.
In Numbers 8:23-26, God tells Moses, “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five old or more shall come to take part in the work at the Tent of Meeting, but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves must not do the work.”
The Levites were men appointed to perform priestly duties following Israel’s exodus from Egypt. For whatever reason, God determined that the span between ages 25 and 50 were the prime years for filling those roles. After reaching age 50, however, they were to pass those responsibilities to younger men they had been training.
That’s it. One mention of retiring from work in the entire Bible. So, unless any of us today are Levitical priests, the Scriptures have nothing to say about our retirement plans.
There are some passages about wise planning for the future. And Ecclesiastes 3:1 declares, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” We could surmise that applies for the beginning and end of one’s working career. However, there’s nothing in the Bible to address matters such as ‘When should I retire?’ or ‘What should I do when I retire?’
Why is that? Perhaps it’s because as long as God gives us breath, He desires for us to use our gifts, abilities and experience for His glory, to serve Him and others. Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Deciding to put our skills and talents into cold storage once we reach a certain age isn’t a very good way of doing all in the name of the Lord Jesus.
This isn’t a criticism of folks who have retired and no longer have to participate in the Monday-Friday grind. Certainly, age slowly takes away some of our working capacities, so what we could easily do in our 30s or 40s might now be much harder in our 60s and 70s. But that shouldn’t mean our value, our contributions to society – and to individuals around us – should end.
A Toby Keith song says, “I’m not as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was.” In the eyes of God, we remain stewards of everything He’s given us until the day we take our final breath. That includes offering the vast stores of wisdom and experience that our world desperately needs.
Perhaps, as Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, the season for whatever work you’ve been doing has come to an end – or soon will. That only means the Lord plans to put you into another “season,” one you might find meaningful and fulfilling beyond anything you could have dreamed. Maybe what many of us need most is not retirement, but redirection.
No comments:
Post a Comment