Requirements for Retirement
Is there more to retirement for a Christian than rest and relaxation?
I’m a product of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry (FOI). I came to know my Savior and Messiah through FOI. I met my wife through FOI, and I’ve served the Lord for almost 50 years with FOI. I love this ministry and hope to work with it in some capacity until the Lord calls me home. But I also am in the groundswell that precedes the “silver tsunami.”
The silver tsunami is a term the Pew Research Center coined about a decade ago to describe the giant wave of more than 16 million baby boomers projected to reach age 65 by 2027. Sixty-five, of course, is the age traditionally regarded as the beginning of retirement and a time of rest and enjoyment after decades of work.
Gene Perret, the late, Emmy-winning comedy writer for The Carol Burnett Show, loved to muse over retirement. He brought a great sense of humor to the subject, writing, “I enjoy waking up and not having to go to work. So I do it three or four times a day.”
My grandfather, a tailor, died at age 65 without the opportunity to retire. As a result, my father vowed to retire at 62; and he and my mother enjoyed many good years together before my dad had to move into a nursing home.
Praise the Lord, I’m not anywhere near ready for a nursing home; and neither is my wife, Alice. But life moves quickly, and it moves even faster the older we get. Perhaps that’s why God tells us, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (Jas. 4:14). Our six grandchildren are growing up, and our oldest is getting ready to start college in the fall. Where did the time go?
So, I decided to do a little biblical research to see what, if anything, the Lord tells us about retirement.
Beyond the Garden
After God created the heavens and the earth, He planted a garden and placed Adam in it (Gen. 2:8–25). Then, He appointed Adam to tend it (v. 15) and to name and manage the animals He had created (v. 19). He gave Adam a helper, Eve, whom He fashioned from Adam’s rib (vv. 21–23); and together they worked sweat-free and stress-free, loving their work environment. But things soon changed.
Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan’s temptation and brought sin into the world. From then on, Adam had to work by the “sweat of [his] face” (3:19). He endured frustrations, such as weeds, drought, and his own physical limitations. Yet, as Scripture unfolds, the first three books of the Bible mention nothing about retirement.
Then came God’s instructions to the Levites:
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “This is what pertains to the Levites: From twenty-five years old and above one may enter to perform service in the work of the tabernacle of meeting; and at the age of fifty years they must cease performing this work, and shall work no more. They may minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of meeting, to attend to needs, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall do to the Levites regarding their duties” (Num. 8:23–26).
The Levitical priests were to “cease performing [their] work” (v. 25). Many translations, such as the New American Standard Bible and the New Living Translation, render the term retire. Whether “ceasing” or “retiring” from work, God commanded that priests stop doing the heavy lifting at the age of 50. The physicality required of the priests to break down and carry the Tabernacle and to slaughter and butcher the animals for sacrifice was highly demanding. So, God commanded that after 50 years of age, younger and stronger priests assume the physical work: “[The retired priests] may minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of meeting, to attend to needs, but they themselves shall do no work” (v. 26).
God mandated retirement from the specific job but not from serving in other areas. Though older and weaker, the over-50-year-olds possessed two important assets: work experience and (hopefully) wisdom. Though retired from their jobs, they could still work by serving the Lord in different capacities.
How to Spend Your Retirement Wisely
While there is nothing unbiblical about spending more time in the golden years of life pursuing and enjoying hobbies, travel, and grandchildren, the most important consideration should be our service to the Lord. Retirement is merely the beginning of a new phase of service.
Like the priests of old, we may no longer have the physical stamina to do what we did when we were young; but God will always provide ministry if we truly want to serve Him. I had a friend who was bedridden in hospice care for seven months. She couldn’t do anything. But she could pray. She spent hours and hours every day praying, ministering to people around the world from her bedroom.
Here are three suggested areas of focus for Christians planning for or living in retirement.
1. Stewardship. Jesus calls believers to be “faithful and wise steward[s]” (Lk. 12:42) of the resources God has entrusted to them, establishing a plan that includes managing finances, health, and time. It should also include budgeting, saving, and giving financially to the Lord’s work: “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:6–7).
2. Service. Free from the responsibilities of our day jobs, we can use our regained time (at least some of it) to exercise our God-given gifts and talents by volunteering in our churches, communities, and nonprofit organizations. We still are responsible to carry out Christ’s Great Commission, and we can invest this time in our lives testifying for Him. For “as each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet. 4:10).
3. Spiritual Growth. Retirement can be the best time in our lives for deepening our walks with Jesus. Instead of rushing off to a job and spending our days working there, we can use those additional hours for prayer and Bible study. As we grow in grace in Christ, He will provide greater opportunities to share with others the wisdom and knowledge we are gaining.
Since Christ is conforming us to His image, we can accelerate the process by becoming more like Him while on Earth. The apostle Paul exhorted believers, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:23–24, ESV).
Though I missed the silver tsunami by several years, I plan, Lord willing, to retire from my responsibilities as vice president of North American Ministries in May. However, I count it a privilege that I will continue to write regularly for Israel My Glory going forward. I hope to follow my own advice by using my gifts and abilities to serve our Savior and The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry however I can in the years to come as “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14).
Photo: The Friends of Israel Archives
