There’s No Such Thing as Spiritual Retirement

Jesus speaks to us about the dangers of worrying in Matthew 6:25-34. Two accounts of this sermon are given — the other found in Luke 12:22-34.

In both passages, Jesus deals with treasures of the heart before beginning His exposition on worry.

In Matthew’s account, we see the need for storing up treasures in heaven, rather than on earth (Matthew 6:19-21).

In other words, we are called to live for the Kingdom of God instead of for our own personal gain and pleasure.

In Luke’s account, Jesus tells a parable of a rich fool. He had land that was productive, so he stored up produce for himself, tore down his smaller barns to build a massive one, and then decided that his life’s goal would be to “relax, eat, drink, be merry” (Luke 12:19). God calls this man a fool (Luke 12:20).

Why would God call him a fool? God calls us to lives of prudence (Proverbs 6:6-8). The man was storing up goods for the unforeseeable future. No one knows what hardships we will face on a day-to-day basis.

Maybe the man was greedy. Greed is an easily identifiable sin (Proverbs 28:22). However, we are not certain if the man was greedy or not. He might have given to others out of his surplus of provisions.

The real issue is that the man’s heart was not in alignment with God. His identity was wrapped up in his possessions. He lived life, worked hard, and now he wanted to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor.

Don’t misunderstand me … saving money and working towards career retirement is a good thing! None of us are promised tomorrow, but God has called us to be wise and prudent. It honors God when we save and give of the resources that He has given us.

The real problem is that the man was ready to spiritually retire, in addition to his career retirement. He achieved all that he hoped for in life, and now he wants to do nothing more than enjoy himself.

The problem is: there is no such thing as spiritual retirement. For those of us who belong to Jesus, we are called to serve Him for as long as breath is in our lungs (1 Corinthians 10:31). God’s response to the man is, “‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’” (Luke 12:20).

The man strived for the treasures of the world, but he never enjoyed them as he intended.

The two-fold problem in living with the sole purpose of accumulating material possessions is 1.) it does not honor and glorify God — wealth becomes idolatry in our lives; and 2.) material possessions will never truly satisfy — only God can satisfy (Isaiah 55:1-3).

Jesus sets the stage for addressing our worries by referencing what we treasure. In part two of this series, we will see the answer for our worries.

None of us are immune to worry, and Jesus used material possessions in these stories because they are relatable. For instance, we cannot help but think about the state of our economy or the gas prices that we are currently paying.

These things, if we are not careful, will produce anxiety.

Come back next time as we look at Jesus’ words for addressing our worries.

This article appeared originally on Liftable.