Better Outcomes in All Retirement Stages

With Jesus going to the cross at age 33 and with most of His disciples martyred in the line of duty, we don’t have much New Testament exposure to vocational retirement. Some may argue that Jesus’ post-resurrection and pre-ascension days might resemble vocational retirement, but this period lasted only forty days, not decades. And, while less visible, He was clearly still about His Father’s business.

This essay is one of many compiled as a small cadre of leaders/authors gathered in Colorado Springs in November 2018 for the inaugural meeting of the Retirement Reformation Roundtable. Click on the photo above for the full collection of essays.

Retirement is obviously a very culturally-based phenomenon. For nearly a century Americans have shared the notion that vocational retirement will commonly occur around the mid-sixties.

Some retirement decisions are mandatory, but most are self-initiated. They are, of course, heavily influenced by federal laws/benefits, physical and mental health, unions, pensions, media advertising, employer policies, peer pressure, and other factors—loud voices that can easily drown out the whispering call of Jesus.

Stages

So, what are these three retirement stages, highlighted in the essay title?

The medical profession might refer to the stage of robust health, followed by pre-frail and frail years, and concluding with a severe dependency stage. Those with an eye on serving potential identify stages of active application (65-77), mentoring (78-86), and reflection (87+). ‘Go-Go’, ‘Slow-Go’, and ‘No-Go’ are other words used to summarize probable stages of a retiree’s life.

We acknowledge that attaching ages to later-life stages, unlike our early formative years, has considerable variance. While we may have all started kindergarten in the five-years-of-age neighborhood, we’re certainly not all retiring at the same age. Some stalwarts will resist vocationally retiring until close to death. Similarly, our minds and bodies will face benchmarks of decline, varying sometimes by decades, not just months or years.

Most people choosing to retire want to do so while they are still in relatively robust health. They know the clock is ticking on world travel and other experiences they may have postponed while tied down to a job. And some who traveled extensively in their jobs may crave being grounded, with less time on the road.

But how do we as Christians, defined as Christ-followers, allow Jesus to orchestrate our concluding encores? How do we avoid becoming overly predictable, stereotypic pawns of an entitlement culture?

Listening Ears

Most believers accept in theory that we are called to live for God all the days of our lives. While vocational employment may come and go, spiritual retirement is not part of His agenda for us.

Having served in 50+ ministry now for over ten years, I’ve observed a broad spectrum in how Christians view their own retirement. Borderline workaholics may resist the notion of slowing down, at every turn. Others, even in Christian circles, may view retirement as a well-earned, kick-back pass to do whatever suits their fancy. Many others seek kingdom purpose that includes intermittent, welcomed rest.

If Jesus is truly our Lord, it’s vitally important that we listen to Him intently and take our marching orders from Him. He may call some to continue vocational pursuits long beyond common retirement benchmarks. He may ask some of us to live as salt and light among those who have chosen a more traditional, leisurely path. His calling is both general and personal, and it’s His calling that should drive and steer us as His followers.

Many of us who were Christians in our young adult years prayed fervently, asking God to direct us in our choice of a major area of study, vocation(s), mate, first apartment or home, etc. We need similar, fervent prayers in these latter stages of life, asking for God to direct us in potential retirement decisions, arenas of service, geographic living area, downsizing decisions, investments/giving, grandparenting, etc. We’re not designed to live on autopilot.

Free At Last

Personal freedom tends to ebb and flow in these later-life stages. For those with families, the empty nest is often an early gift of personal freedom. Financial breakthroughs in becoming debt-free—even paying off a mortgage—can also usher in that “free at last” euphoria. Freedom, though, is fickle and can be quickly and unexpectedly reversed with challenges such as caregiving, personal illness or disability, financial disasters, diminished energy, and other setbacks.

How we steward initial freedoms will often be a strong indicator of how well we’ll navigate life’s later twists and turns. Serving the Lord with gladness during your robust years will often carry purpose and blessing into your later more frail and dependent years. Sadly, self-centered patterns cemented in the physically robust years may become even more pronounced as physical bodies decline.

In our ministry, YES! Young Enough to Serve, we focus nationally on the unrealized kingdom potential of adults over fifty. One reason for starting at this earlier, half-century milestone, rather than a more typical retirement age, is that this retirement-prelude period is often when retirement perspectives are shaped and solidified.

The Gift Of Momentum

Momentum is a powerful force. Active surrender to the Lordship of Christ is a posture best adopted early and then sustained throughout the rest of life’s ups and down. Yes, God-given epiphanies and repentance are possible at any juncture. If, however, we’ve allowed our culture to pre-define retirement for us, our openness to radically obey Christ may be constricted.

In other words, if retirement is an “all-about-me” entitlement, our attitudes and activities will largely be shaped by this presupposition. If we adopt a whole-life/Jesus-first perspective, we will constantly be on the alert, looking for practical ways to please, honor, and serve Him.

A servant’s heart is a beautiful attribute at every life stage.

I was blessed to see radical obedience to Christ play out in the life of my father-in-law, who passed away recently at the age of ninety. As I look back at his retirement era choices, I see a clear pattern of breaking traditional norms to follow Christ. These choices helped catapult him from one life stage to the next, each season filled with an uncommon, off-script sense of purpose.

I was first blown away by his surprising transition from a retired house painter—residing comfortably in a Southern California suburb—to serving as an inner-city pastor in San Francisco. He was obviously not looking to settle into a traditional retirement. He was committed to kingdom impact and to following the Lord’s leading, wherever that might take him.

Momentum from his physically robust years served him well as his physical stamina diminished. Physically demanding serving projects eventually subsided while mentoring relationships became a more central focus. His serving adventures took him to a variety of locations domestically and internationally, while his ninth decade was dedicated to fruitful living and reflection back on the home front.

With his geographic scope narrowed, he still found ways to venture outside typical comfort zones. His favorite final-decade serving adventure was attending twice-weekly chapel services at a nearby Christian college, making himself available to converse, counsel, and pray with students, faculty, and staff. It was a breath of fresh air for both that academic community and him.

At age ninety, some of his peers would declare that they had outlived all their friends. My father-in-law, by contrast, had dear friends from all generations. His memorial service was attended by people impacted by him in the past weeks and months, as well as those touched decades earlier, spanning nearly a century.

Counter-Intuitive. Reasonable. Blessed.

Reflecting on Jesus at the Last Supper, conventional wisdom would tell us that Peter had it right. He should have been the one washing Jesus’ feet. Jesus was about to die for the sins of the world, and here He was, taking time to personally wash the disciples’ dirty feet. Jesus set before us a counter-intuitive path, one that he wants us to adopt as we enter into life stages when others might naturally insist that it’s time we set the serving towel aside.

While counter-intuitive, Jesus’ call is not wildly irrational or unreasonable. Jesus had good reasons for washing the disciples’ feet. He did it to show us the way. “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” John 13:17 (NIV)

You may need to make some reasonable shifts along the way. If you’re a roofer approaching your seventies, God may want you to find serving avenues a bit more down to earth.

Being called to have a servant’s heart until our last breath is not a miserable life sentence. It will enrich our lives each step of the way.

And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
1 Thessalonians 5:14 (NIV)

When Paul, Silas, and Timothy urged the Church at Thessalonica to warn those who were idle and disruptive, I doubt the warning was to be couched in guilt, shame, or legalism. It was for their own benefit, for both now and eternity. Disruption of Christ’s lifelong plan— by choosing the idle lane—is not good for us nor those around us.

We’re the winners when we choose to follow Christ’s example and walk the lifelong path of a servant. It’s the truer path of blessing.