What Does The Bible Say About Saving For Retirement?

What does the Bible say, if anything, about retirement?

Retirement of the Levites

There is really only one place that even comes close to the subject of retirement but it is for one profession alone that retirement is mentioned (although not by name) and that is the Levitical Priesthood. In Numbers 8:25-26 God tells Moses that it will be “from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. They minister to their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.” That’s it! There is no mention of the need to retire anywhere else in the Bible except for the Levitical priests and the reason that they are told to “withdraw from the duty of service” is that after age 55, they have served long enough already or perhaps they are no longer at the prime of life yet. We are not really told exactly why the Levites are to retire at age 55 but we do know that they cannot begin their priesthood until they are “twenty-five years old and upward” (Num 8:24) showing that they must be mature enough and know enough to do their duties properly. As such, there is a very small window of time, relatively speaking, in which the Levites can serve in the priesthood. Even when the Levites retired, they weren’t sent out to pasture; they were told to “minister to their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard,” meaning that they were to make sure that things were done properly in the tabernacle and to minister to them, perhaps in a position of leadership and these men had the experience to know how to perform the Levitical priesthood duties properly and when one of the priests were in error, they could recognize it immediately.

God’s Retirement Plan

God never tells the Christian that they can retire from their duty because we’ve all have been called to be effective witnesses for the gospel of Jesus Christ (Matt 28:19-20). In effect, we are ambassadors for Jesus Christ (2nd Cor 5:20) and there is no retirement from that. When we draw our last breath, God’s done with us; at least in this life. When Moses died, he was still physically and mentally fit, but God declared that it was time for new leadership for Israel under Joshua (Joshua 1), and so “Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day” (Deut 34:5-6) but it wasn’t because he was not physically or mentally capable because the Scriptures say “Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated” (Deut 34:7). The point is, God determines the time of our departure and we are to work while we still have time. Job understood that in writing that his “days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass” (Job 14:5), so we must work the work of God as long as we are alive.

Working in the Day

As I touched on in the previous paragraph, we don’t know when God will call us home, but until then, as long as our hearts are beating, we have work to do for the kingdom of God. Jesus said “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4) so “as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal 6:10). Jesus would ask us, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world” (John 11:9). There is certainly nothing wrong with someone retiring from their job, hopefully of their own free will and not forced into retirement, but as for the work that God has long ago appointed for us to do (Eph 2:10), we should walk in them while there’s still time. Old age is no reason not to be of service for Christ. Many Christians I know who have retired or were forced to retire from their job became missionaries and they say it’s the most joyous time of their life. There is something about being a soul-winner, of course realizing that it is God Who gives the increase (Acts 2:47; John 6:44), but these men and women found that this was the greatest joy of their lives. They were not content to spend the rest of their lives in a rocking chair, or spend it playing miniature golf, or going to the beach…not that these are bad in themselves, but we are not called to have a life filled with nothing but pleasure. We are called to make disciples of all nations and teach them the same things that Jesus taught the disciples (Matt 28:19-20). There is no retirement from this calling.

Saving for Retirement

Yes, Christians should save money so that when the day comes, they won’t have to be a burden on others to survive and they’ll have provisions for the latter years in which they can’t work as easily. There is great wisdom in saving money for retirement or saving for an emergency too and even saving to pay off cars or a house (if possible). Solomon wrote, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous” (Prov 13:22) but “a foolish man devours it” (Prov 21:20b). Why not, if you’re still young, begin to start saving a certain percentage, perhaps having it taken out of your check so that you won’t even notice it after a while. It is only the love of money and the pursuit of money that is evil; not money itself.

Conclusion

Christians “know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2nd Cor 5:1) that someday, “what is mortal may be swallowed up by life” (2nd Cor 5:4). The Apostle Paul writes that “we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2nd Cor 5:8) but in the meantime, “we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2nd Cor 5:20). Never retire from your calling to tell others about the hope that we have in Christ and that it was “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2nd Cor 5:21).  That is not only good news; it is the very best of news!

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.