Working for Retirement?
How do you define success?
Is it knowing you can retire and begin to enjoy the fruits of your labors? Or is it something else?
One becomes rich through diligence and self-denial, and the reward allotted to him is this: when he says, "I have found rest, and now I shall feast on my goods!" he does not know how long it will be until he leaves them to others and dies. Stand by your agreement and attend to it, and grow old in your work. - Sirach 11:18-20
As Christians, when we look to Scripture for wisdom and advice, we focus on the teachings of Jesus. We don't really get to know the Old Testament books beyond the most familiar stories from Genesis and Exodus, or the sayings of Isaiah that tie in well with what Jesus taught.
But Jesus was a devout Jew and he lived with others who would have known the sayings and stories we rarely pay attention to. Jesus framed his parables and teachings around them, so it is not unusual for us to see similarities in the words of the prophets and teachers, like Sirach.
In today's wisdom, we find a message about our work and purpose in life. What are we doing and why are we doing it?
We all understand that we may be storing up riches here on earth only to find they outlive us. But is that bad? We want to leave something for our children, and maybe even something for our church? (Hint, hint)
I read something recently about Bill and Melinda Gates. The foundation they started gives away money at an alarming rate, and yet, they claim they can't give it away fast enough. It continues to grow in value.
If Bill had given away all his money as he made it, there would be far fewer people benefiting from his work. Does that justify the wealth he accumulated?
The opinions are split on that, with some believing all should benefit and no one should become wealthy.
The wisdom here seems to support that. But the message could be simple. Our work needs to have a purpose beyond accumulating wealth for a relaxing retirement.
If we put all our effort into working for ourselves, what joy is that?
I think the secret to success here is to know that what we do helps others and that our ability to do so comes from God. If we measure our success that way, we can grow old in our work and find peace.
More to come...
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