I’ve had the opportunity recently to think more about a Christian’s responsibility in retirement. The scripture below-from Numbers 8:23-26- is the only direct reference to retirement in Scripture. Jesus, however, spoke indirectly about priorities without regard to age or stage of life. In the principles of Chrisian living I see both direct and subtle, and sometimes even obtuse and challenging references to use of time and all other resources, living simply, value of and participation in community, attentiveness to needs of others including across generations, thriving by allowing the fruit of the Spirit to flow through you, and more.
Some of the results of my pondering….
1.) planning for retirement is wise.
2.) know what you actually need in order to live without stress and how you will fund your needs in retirement. You worked for your money, this is the time when your money must work for you.
3.) stay prayerfully engaged with God to stay aligned with His will and how you can love and serve Him with all of who you are and what you have. Retire “to” something, not “from” something. “Work” and “worship” are the same word in Hebrew; use and interpretation is dependent on specific context.
4.) use of your talents and gifts doesn’t end with transition out of a paid career
5.) habitually tearing down and rebuilding larger storehouses is not a wise strategy in God’s view. One’s prosperity is a blessing from God and should be used for God’s glory, others’ gain, as well as one’s personal good.
A parable of Jesus about excessive personal storehouses……
Remember: It all came to us through God’s blessings, it all is His, and He desires us to use it in accordance with His will….
Luke 12:16-21 (NIV)
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Along a similar line of thinking….Housing affordability is highly visible in economic news reports these days. My husband had a childless uncle who died during our first year of marriage. He left a modest bequest in his will to his nieces and nephews. We used ours for a down payment on our first home. Bill’s mother used a portion of her husband’s estate to help with a down payment for a home we built years later for her and us when the cost and demands of maintaining her own home became burdensome. Our homes became a significant part of our financial stability through the years. It has allowed me to live now mortgage free.
Our commitment to assisting with our children’s and grandchildren’s educations has been followed now by a commitment to assisting them with home ownership, as we were assisted. They are responsible and hardworking young adults who can handle home ownership responsibilities.
Boomers hold a significant portion of family wealth. My goal is to responsibly spend what I can while I live, not only in ministry activities, but also including assistance to our grandchildren for down payments for home purchases. Two are now in the process of purchasing their first homes.
Additionally, I have been privileged to turn a property that we used for Titus 2’s final two years of residential recovery services into a permanent home for another family with young children, financing the purchase for them and contributing the principle from the mortgage to the church that nurtured three decades of my own and Bill’s spiritual growth and has provided and continues to provide support for the Titus 2 ministry.
My sister and her husband have also assisted their children in buying and making improvements in first-time home properties to allow them to stake their claims to financial stability, too.
So many young families today do not have a legacy of family financial stability to build on. This has been, it seems, another sad legacy of ruptured and crumbling family structures in our culture. I pray that my generation, as we age, will be generous and own our responsibility to leave families behind us that are able to thrive and not merely survive.
Talk to your retirement financial advisor, your family, your church and other charities, and an area realtor to explore ways to help a new generation advance toward home ownership and financial stability.
What additional insights has God shown you in thinking about or living in “retirement.” What will your purpose be in those years?
CBB 7/27/25
Seen today: From UsefulGen Facebook page
“What does it feel like to be old?
Someone asked me that once, and I didn’t really know how to answer.
Not because I was offended, just surprised.
I don’t wake up every day thinking, “I’m old.”
I just wake up, stretch, and get on with it.
But later, when I sat with the question, I realized something:
Getting older isn’t something I fear.
It’s something I’m learning to appreciate.
I’m not in a rush anymore.
I don’t worry about keeping up with everything and everyone.
Some days I get things done. Some days I don’t.
Either way, life moves on.
I’ve stopped trying to fix things that don’t matter.
I’ve learned that silence is an answer.
That peace is more important than being right.
And that some people will never understand you, and that’s okay.
There are things I’ve lost along the way… people, moments, parts of myself.
And yes, some of that still hurts.
But I also carry more love than I used to.
More patience. More softness.
More understanding of what really matters.
I no longer pretend to be fine when I’m not.
I don’t explain myself as much.
And I don’t waste time worrying about what people think of me.
If I want to sit and watch the sky for an hour, I will.
If I want to cry over an old memory, I won’t stop myself.
If I want to laugh at something silly, I’ll let myself.
Because I’ve learned that time doesn’t slow down.
And joy doesn’t wait for permission.
So if you ask me what it feels like to be old…
I’d say it feels like freedom.
The kind that comes with letting go of things you used to hold too tightly.
I don’t know how much time I have left, none of us do.
But I’m not wasting what’s left of mine chasing perfection.
I just want to live quietly, honestly, and in my own way.
And if that’s what being old feels like…
I’ll take it.”
