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| Retirement: God's Purpose Retirement Day
Does the Bible speak about retirement? Yes, it does. In fact, the Bible speaks on finances approximately 1,800 times. Out of those 1,800 scriptures that deal with finances, only one references the subject of retirement. It’s found in Numbers 8:25. “But at the age of fifty years they shall retire from service in the work and not work anymore.” The “they” refers to the temple priest. We don’t know what the temple priest did after 50 years, but they could no longer be temple priests. Since that is the only reference on retirement in the entire Bible. I believe the concept we have about retirement today is somewhat out of balance.
As we get older we will normally change our work patterns. A 50-year-old man rarely does the same things at 50 he did at 25. Most who live to be 75 won’t do the same things they’re doing at 50. But most can be doing something productive for the Lord if they plan properly. I recall a study done by a major university. They surveyed 200 65 year-year-old men who were graduates of their school, eliminating those with bad health, heart trouble, etc. They maintained contact with these men from ages 65 to 75. One half of the study group retired at 65 and the other had continued their careers. At age 75, of the group that had retired, 6 out of 7 had died. Of the group that did not retire, 6 out of 7 were still alive. The conclusion of this study was: a man’s probability of dying if he stops work at 65 goes up approximately 500% to 600%. So if you want to live longer, stay active. Let’s look at retirement from a practical perspective. If you’re not going to be able to do the same things at 65 that you were able to do 25, then you need to be preparing for that contingency. If these are the harvest years of your life, then you should put something aside for the winter years. Or if you desire to do volunteer work with a ministry after retirement, then you’ll need to have some surplus funds set aside, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But the point at which a Christian orients his or her life toward retirement, something is out of balance. I think of what David wrote: “ I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread” (Psalm 37:25). We need to remember that. Planning For Retirement
The earlier you start planning for retirement, the better. Even if it’s 20 or 30 years away, there are things you’ll want to do now.
You may protest: how can anyone plan so far ahead? How can I imagine my life 20 to 30 years in the future? Things won’t be as different, and you won’t be as different, as you might think. Even in our mobile society, a significant percentage of the people who retire this year will do so in the house where they lived 25 years ago. Most will stay right where they are for the rest of their lives. Barring physical impairment – which, statistically, is unlike by age 65 – you won’t be a fundamentally different person at retirement age than you are now. Your likes and dislikes, what you enjoy doing in your free time, the level of your luxury needs: these are probably fairly well fixed. You can project them to the future with some confidence. Retirement planning is so important, and yet so easy to postpone, that we encourage you to engage in a little brainstorming to help determine what you should be doing now, in terms of money decisions, careers choices, and perhaps lifestyle adjustments, to prepare for it. Continue reading . . .
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