One Thing the Bible Hardly Mentions

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.

 

Whether it’s quitting work to spend days honing one’s golf game (or pickleball); buying an RV and traveling the countryside; moving to some retirement mecca in another state; or just spending time in a comfortable rocking chair without worrying about showing up for work, retirement is the goal – even a fixation – for lots of folks. 

 

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. 

Retirement: Friend or foe?

What will your retirement years be like:
Spectacular finale, or sputtering fizzle?

Retirement. Seldom has one word evoked such delight and fear at the same instant. For many in my Baby Boomer generation, that’s the case. And every day an average of 10,000 Baby Boomers are retiring.

How did you feel when you read or hear “retirement”? Excited? Confused? Filled with anticipation? Filled with anxiety?

Last week a friend told me about a man who confided that the prospect of imminent retirement filled him with dread. “How long does it take to die?” the man had asked him in earnest, implying once his working career came to an end, so would his reason for living.

What a dismal perspective: Work your tail off for 30-40 years, apply for Social Security, gather up whatever retirement savings you’ve managed to accumulate, buy an annuity, and then curl up in your bed, waiting for your heart to cease beating.

There seem at least two central problems involved:

1) For many people, life and work seem synonymous. When asked, “What kind of work do you do?”, we interpret that to mean, “Who are you?” Careers and vocations often shape our sense of identity.

2) Retirement has come to mean you stop working; you no longer have anything to contribute; or like it or not, you must commence a “vacation” that lasts the rest of your life.

In actuality, none of these is true – or at least shouldn’t be true. Work consumes many of our waking hours, and if we’re fortunate enough to enjoy it, work can give fulfillment. It also can enhance our sense of purpose. But it shouldn’t define us to the point that the end of work amounts to the end of meaningful life.

Although it would seem as if “retirement” should appear somewhere in the Bill of Rights, the idea of retiring – at least as it’s known today – hardly existed prior to the end of World War II. I know, that’s a long time ago. But for most of recorded history, people continued to work until no longer physically able. Idyllic retirement notions of rocking chairs, shuffleboard, steering a Winnebago cross-country, and day-after-day golf were unimagined by our ancestors.

This isn’t to say some kind of transition isn’t in order as we age. Getting older typically means reduced strength and stamina, but that doesn’t mean we must stop working entirely or no longer have anything of value to offer society.

Interestingly, the Bible says little about retirement. The only reference, as we use the term today, concerned Levites, the Israelite priests: “but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer” (Numbers 8:25). Even then it adds, “They may assist their brothers in performing their duties…but they themselves must not do the work….” So even after retirement, the priests were to mentor and consult with their younger peers.

Hopefully soon I’ll start collecting my well-earned Social Security benefits. These days the Federal government calls this an “entitlement,” and I agree in one sense: I and my employers over my more than 45-year working career have paid many thousands into my account under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). So I’m entitled to start receiving what I’ve set aside. But that doesn’t mean I can no longer work – or no longer have worth.

In a future post I’ll suggest ways retirement – the rest of your life – can become the best of your life. But for now, instead of envisioning your retirement years like a fizzling firecracker, imagine them like the grand finale of a fireworks show. All that’s gone before is just preparation for a big, spectacular finish.