Retirement? What’s Next

Being a Director of bible.org I am swamped with emails of all kinds. I am sure you are as well. So when one grabs my attention, I want to share it. What makes an email grab someone’s attention? I think it’s when it affirms a person’s thinking. This one did as it talked about retirement, which if you ask my wife, she will tell you began back when I was in college at Syracuse University. I know, I know you are saying . . . back when? Then years later, at my “official” retirement ceremony several of my employees told my wife, “Your husband is a visionary.” Yes, I guess that is also true and why I was envisioning even back in college what my life would be like if I ever reached retirement age! So where is this post going?

Today in my inbox arrived a note from a well known author who has the same conviction as me—that when that “official” retirement age arrives, it is not the time to sit back, play golf, go fishing, etc. Rather, one needs to take advantage of that additional time to make the last half of their life count for God and to view yourself standing before the judgment seat of Christ where a believer’s works will be judged (2 Cor 5:6-10). It is here that one will hopefully hear Christ say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matt 25:1). Bob Deffinbaugh has an interesting article on The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-28) where he discusses The Relationship of Work to Retirement, and he asks the question, Is Retirement Burying Your Talent? Deffinbaugh makes the point that “our labors for the kingdom have no point of termination except for our Lord’s return, and even then fruitful labor will continue in heaven.” He suggests that we have come to view retirement as that time in life when we can greatly reduce or terminate our giving, and when we can cease our service. Retirement is thought of more in terms of the golf course than “finishing our course” in the Pauline sense (2 Timothy 4:7). The Christian should think about retirement in the same way he or she thinks of being single (if, indeed, you are):

1 Corinthians 7:32-35 And I want you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the things of the world, how to please his wife, and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord, to be holy both in body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the things of the world, how to please her husband. I am saying this for your benefit, not to place a limitation on you, but so that without distraction you may give notable and constant service to the Lord

“Retirement is that period in life when one no longer has the distraction of having to work for a livelihood. It is a time when one should have the wisdom of age, financial freedom, and flexibility. Retirement is like the second stage of a rocket booster. Speed and thrust increase. Our labors for the Master should increase, not diminish, if we are kingdom minded.”

Bob Deffinbaugh is saying what my wife and I strongly believe. We now, as empty nesters, have even greater opportunities to serve the Lord and to build up treasures which neither moth nor rust cannot destroy (Matt 6:19-20). That is the reason why we sold our house on the beach in Florida and moved to Dallas. The opportunities to serve the Lord at bible.org are great and we can see the fruits of our labors daily. We have all heard the saying:

Only one life, twill soon be past,
Only what is done for Christ will last.

Here’s my challenge to you: Will you come join us in the vision to “impact the world for Christ”? April 25th is Internet Evangelism Day. Would you like to learn how to evangelize those who are lost? You can be involved in our vision to see Christians matured across the globe and the NET Bible available to all 1.1 billion people who speak English with access to the Internet.