Retirement, in our day and age, is a big thing. We see all kinds of commercials urging people to go to one particular financial counselor or another to make sure that when they get to the age of retirement they will have enough money to last them until they die. We see other commercials urging people to buy into one kind of investment or another in order to make sure their money is secure for their retirement.
And have you ever been involved in a conversation where people were talking about what they want to do when they retire? Some want to move to the mountains or the beach and just relax. Others want to do a lot of travel, or just spend their remaining days being near their grandchildren.
Well, there is certainly nothing wrong with any of these things. It is important to plan for old age so as to have the resources to live beyond one’s professional life. And there is nothing wrong with relaxing and enjoying life. But if that is all there is to retirement, it brings to mind a parable that Jesus told about a man preparing for his retirement. In Luke 12:16-21 we read:
And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. 17 And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ 21 So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
The truth is, the way most people think about retirement is not biblical thinking. If we really want to understand what we should aim for in retirement based on a biblical worldview, then we have to go back and look at what the Bible says about the purpose of our existence. God created us for a purpose, and unless our entire life is spent fulfilling that purpose, we are not in God’s will regardless of our particular stage in life; whether it is early in our career or in retirement.
It seems that most people have their personal identity wrapped up in their profession. When asked about what they do, usually the first thing they will tell you is what profession they are in. But our profession is not our purpose. Rather, our profession is simply one of the avenues God has given us to fulfill a greater purpose.
God’s purpose for mankind in general, and individuals specifically, is to live in relationship with him. When we enter that relationship, we are supposed to also enter into partnership with God and become an agent to help him fulfill that purpose in other people’s lives. What this means is that our greatest purpose in life is to point people to Christ as we go about living our lives in the world. But there is another part of that purpose that we must also keep in mind. God does not do things half way, and as we live out our purpose, we are not to do things half-way either. We are admonished to always give our best effort. So what we end up with is a dual focus – one in which we fulfill God’s purpose of pointing people to Christ while we do productive work in the world using our best effort.
The problem is, too many Christians don’t keep the big picture in mind. Some focus only on the spiritual part and really don’t put much effort into attaining excellence in their work. Others put almost their entire energy on achieving excellence in their work and forget the bigger purpose they are called to. It is not an either or situation – it is both/and!
But what about retirement? Where does that fit into God’s plan. Well, to really grasp this from God’s perspective, we have to understand that retirement is, itself, a profession. And for Christians, we may change professions, but we never retire from God’s overall purpose.
With a change in profession, there is a change in daily routine. So in retiring, individuals may move to a new location and become involved in different activities, but we never retire from God’s purpose. We are still to be actively involved in pointing people to Christ, just from a different vocational platform.
If you are still years away from retirement, your vocational platform should be used every day to accomplish God’s greater purpose. Of course, this doesn’t mean you are always running up to people an shoving a gospel tract into their hand. There is an appropriate way to touch people’s life that is unique to each circumstance. In some situations it is possible to be active and in other situations it must be more nuanced. But it is always possible to express Christ through your life no matter the circumstances.
If you are approaching retirement or are already there, your vocational platform is in a different arena. You likely have more control over your time and activities. Still, the purpose of your life should be the same as it was before – to point people to Christ.
For a Christian, retiring from God’s purpose for our life is not an option. Retirement is not simply something we do, it relates to who we are. If we truly self-identify as disciples of Jesus Christ, we will continue until we die allowing God to use us to bring people to him.
© 2017 Freddy Davis