Finding an Uncommon Retirement

“What am I going to do with my retirement?”

This anxious question came from Anne Bell, a recently retired teacher at the University of Northern Colorado. Bright and soft-spoken, wearing dark-rimmed glasses and carrying a teacher’s bag, Anne arrived one day as a volunteer at a local nonprofit with questions she wasn’t prepared to an­swer. “I’m really searching for what I’m called to,” she said with a quivering voice. “I need to know what’s next.”

Anne isn’t alone.

The world—and the Christian church—is aging quickly. Roughly 10,000 Baby Boomers retire per day in America1, and this year, for the first time in American history, there will be more Americans over the age of 60 than under 18.2 Yet people are also living longer, which makes the current expe­rience of retirement such an awkward fit for people like Anne. For example, if you were born in 1947, you can expect to live to age 85. If you were born in 1967, your life expectancy is 91. For those born in 2007, life expectancy is now 103.3 In an age of human longevity, people are asking how they will spend what could be 20, 30, or even 40 years after official retirement.

What will we do with all that time?

A CULTURAL VIEW OF RETIREMENT Retirement is an idea with a history. The history of retirement began in America around the con­cept of a never-ending vacation. “Wake up and live in Sun City, for an active way of life,” said the radio advertising jingle for the Del Webb Corpo­ration in 1960. “Wake up and live in Sun City, Mr. Senior Citizen and wife. Don’t let retirement get you down! Be happy in Sun City; it’s a paradise town.” Retirement communities started appear­ing in the 1920s, but it was real estate developer Del Webb’s Sun City, a sprawling housing devel­opment for seniors built just outside of Phoenix, Arizona, that popularized retirement as a year-round vacation in post-WWII America. Today, the Let’s Vacation narrative about retirement dominates, with millions of men and women saving for the “blessed” day when they don’t have to work. However, there are several problems with this paradigm. First, most Americans can’t afford this vision. Sec­ond, many Christians believe a life of self-fo­cused leisure doesn’t square with their beliefs. But third, this view often leads minimally to boredom and sometimes to despair. After an initial honeymoon period, for most—retirement becomes filled primarily with two activities: home maintenance and watching a screen.

Can Christians do better?

A BIBLICAL VIEW OF RETIREMENT

Rather than seeing retirement as a never-ending vacation, the Bible describes it as laying down past work identities and entering a new season of rest, renewal, and re-engagement as elders filled with wisdom and blessing for a coming generation.

Though the Bible doesn’t speak directly to the modern social construct of retirement, it does hint at the maturing of vocation over a lifetime. In the book of Numbers, the LORD said to Moses, “from twenty-five years old and upward they shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more” (Numbers 8:24-25). Since hauling around the furniture of the Tabernacle was physically demanding, God commanded older men to lay down the heavy work and give it to younger priests.

In contrast to a vision of aging as the “retire­ment dream” or a “work-til-you-drop” scenario, scripture is realistic about aging and the need to lay down past re­sponsibilities. Doing the hard work of disassociating our identity from work in early retirement requires an intentional space to rest, reflect, and seek renewal.

I believe the first step in renewing a vision of retirement is to prepare men and women not for the complete cessation of work but for a sabbatical—an intentional 3, 6, or 12 months of rest and interior renewal to heal from past wounds and re-orient the heart toward trust, worship, and justice.4 The Bible suggests that we all need not just days of rest but seasons of rest (Leviticus 25). The beginning of retirement is the perfect time for just such a period of healing and reflection.

The Bible shows us elders were once associated with wisdom, character, and leadership ability, the assumed fruit of experience and age (Leviticus 19:32). Far from being an insult, the Hebrew term for elder (zaqen) is used as an indication of one’s nobility. The elder taught at the city gate, the ancient place for public dialogue. Today, we’d be wise to recover older traditions of honoring our elders, including the work they do later in life.

Rather than endless conversa­tions about maximizing the finan­cial benefits of retirement, could we embrace a vision of elders as community leaders, giving gener­ously to a coming generation of their insight, money, time, talents, and prayers?

A DEEPER HOPE The secular vision of retirement is weighed down with images of sailboats, gag retirement gifts, and vacations to the tropics. But the Bible has a very different vision of aging. “The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Leba­non,” writes the Psalmist. “They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green,” (Psalm 92:12-14).

The biblical call in retirement is certainly to faithful stewardship—but not just our finances. Our deeper call is the stewardship of our experiences, our skills, and our very lives for the well-being of others. Christian hope means aging, frailty, and death are not the end. We live in the ever-shining dawn of the Resurrection. This life is just the beginning of the life that is truly Life (1 Timothy 6:19).

A biblical picture of retirement is not one of heroism nor hedonism but listening to God’s voice and responding in love as elders, intent on sharing wisdom and blessing with the next generation. It is simply a life of service, pointing beyond ourselves to the Servant in whose image we are made.

“What am I going to do with my retirement?” If we attune our ears to God, we’ll hear Christ say, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). Now, step forward into this new season and faithfully pursue the work God has entrusted to you.

---

This article was published in our Faithful Steward magazine, a quarterly publication filled with encouraging stories, biblical teaching, and practical tools to help you grow as a wise and joyful giver. If you'd like to begin receiving Faithful Steward, consider becoming a FaithFi partner. 1 Kessler, Glenn. “Do 10,000 Baby Boomers Retire Every Day?” The Washington Post, July 24, 2014. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ news/fact-checker/wp/2014/07/24/do-10000-baby-boomers-re­tire-every-day/

2 Freedman, Marc. “Building Bridges Across the Generational Divide.” The Wall Street Journal, November 1, 2018.

3 Gratton, Lynda, and Andrew J. Scott. “The Challenge.” The 100-Year Life. Accessed December 28, 2017. https://www.100yearlife.com/ the-challenge/

4 Haanen, Jeff. “An Uncommon Guide to Retirement: Finding God’s Purpose for the Next Season of Life.” Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2019.