In broad terms, retirement is withdrawing from your work and seeking the ability to live life to the fullest without obligation, worry or commitment. Retirement allows for the mentality to do what you want when you feel like doing it. It is a reward for hard work.
There are those that will tell you that retirement is not biblical? That is not so. The only mention of retirement found in the Bible is stated in Numbers 8:23-26 where God tells Moses that the Levites (who are the priests that are in charge of serving God but doing lots of work around the Tabernacle) would be allowed to begin work at age 25 and then work until mandatory retirement at age 50.
However, these priests were not expected to bag their bags and go the nearest beach in Tel Aviv but were “expected” to begin assisting the younger men in their work. It was a new work now. It was the mentoring of younger men by providing wisdom from their 25 years of experience in serving the Lord.
Now if you go to a Bible Commentary, you are likely to find that the elders are under no obligation to do any work that requires labor but are to become counselors which in turn allows the younger men to assume more responsibilities.
The Bible is full of men that work long into their life such as John the Apostle was still writing while he was in his 90’s. Moses was 80 when he asked for freedom of the Israelites slaves. He worked until he dies at age 120 years old.
Retirement should mean you are no longer doing the work of old but now have increased time and opportunity to do God’s work. This is God’s design. Everyone has the opportunity to use the time given to them after their working retirement. What is important now is we must decide how to use and redeem the time that God has given us. We must take every chance we have to serve the Lord.
One particular job of labor is to be pursued as long as possible and as productive for as long as we can. However, God calls us to labor in his vineyard until he calls us home. Be faithful, glorify God, serve the common good and do all you can to further his kingdom.
