There I was, minding my own business. After an award ceremony a couple of weeks ago that my team set up and supported, a coworker asked me a hard question I had not heard before.
“Why are you still working?”
In context, my acquaintance and I were discussing his upcoming retirement from federal service. Like me, he had served 20 years on active duty and 20 more years working as a Department of the Army Civilian. I asked him how old he was, and he asked me the same. When I said that I was 66, he followed up with that hard question about why I was still working full-time. I gave him a hasty answer, but upon further reflection, it was not exactly what I wished I had said.
My immediate response was that I was still working full-time (even though I could retire and draw full Social Security benefits now) because I am able to work, mentally and physically. I am planning to keep on working in this same job for another two or three years before I retire.
Let me reflect on this loaded question for a few minutes and expand on what I could have said in more detail. Perhaps it may be of value to others like me who are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
God has called me here
The first thing I should have said was that God put me in this job. I will stay until He indicates it is time for me to move on. I was not sure of where this guy’s beliefs were, so I gave him a safe answer, which I will elaborate on below. But this is the foundation of my personal theology of work: God prepared me for this job, He called and led me to it, provided it, and is present in it.
I can relate to Eric Liddell, a 1924 Olympic athlete from Scotland, whose talent and Christian faith were the main focus of the movie “Chariots of Fire.” In a scene that still chokes me up every time I see it, he says something so profound to his sister who is concerned about Eric’s commitment to preparing for the Olympics. She thinks it is just a distraction to a higher calling to serve on the mission field. He said, “I believe that God made me for a purpose—for China. But He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure . . . To win is to honor Him.”
In the same way, I know that working for the government is as important to the Kingdom of God as vocational Christian ministry. When a project or event is completed that I had my hands in, I do feel God’s pleasure and He is glorified in it. When I meet the full spectrum of legitimate needs (physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual) of the senior leaders and teammates that I have the privilege of serving every day, I know that I am doing what I am called to do. Like Esther, perhaps I have been put here for such a time as this (Esther 4:14).
I am still value-added to my organization
Another solid reason that I am working full-time at my age is that by the grace of God, I am still able to make timely and lasting contributions to this organization and the people in it.
In the Joseph narrative, God not only blessed Joseph with His presence at work every day (a connection I call Immanuel labor), but He also blessed his employer, Potiphar (Gen. 39:1-5). You also see the same pattern when Joseph is in prison (Gen. 39:21-23) and also when he worked for Pharoah (Gen. 41:37-40). Like He did with Joseph, God blesses my employer through my work.
How does this happen? God called me to do a variety of tasks that contribute in small ways to this country’s defense. Some days I accomplish only a handful of missions and take care of a few people. On other days, as I advise senior leaders, my recommendations, based on the experiences and wisdom God has provided, are listened to. This helps them make decisions that affect the width and breadth of the U.S. Army Chemical Corps around the world. What I do enables others to do their jobs more effectively, which makes our Nation’s defense stronger, and allows U.S. citizens to experience peace (shalom).
I have been in this job for nearly 17 years (since March 2008). That is a long time in one place. I would like to think that I am still improving or at least maintaining my job proficiency. If I sense my job performance is beginning to decline, then it is time for me to seek God’s face to find my next chapter.
I need the income
This observation should not be a surprise. Everyone understands that we work to earn money to support our family. God provides work for us as a blessing. We trade eight hours of our time, talent, and energy to earn a day’s wages which enables us to eat, pay rent or mortgage and utilities, get what we need, and sometimes what we want for our families to survive and thrive. Our compensation may not be much when we start, but it usually increases over the years.
However, even after working for several decades, many of us who are nearing retirement age may not feel we have saved or invested nearly enough. We are not sure if living on a fixed income consisting of social security and a retirement plan is going to be sufficient to pay all of the bills. Consequently, we plan to keep on working as long as we can to be better prepared for the future.
I will go when the time is right
Like I said earlier, I am still physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy enough to continue doing this job. If and when I (or others above, below, or next to me) notice a significant decline in any of these capabilities, it will definitely be time to drop my request to retire. As I discussed in an article I wrote on my blog a couple of years ago, I want to be able to make the decision to retire long before my boss pulls me into his or her office to tell me that it’s time to retire.
Let me be more specific. I have a list of questions to help me (and others in the same boat) honestly assess the impact of aging on my ability to do my job:
- Do I find myself saying, “I’m getting too old for this”?
- Do I have physical limitations that impact my ability to function?
- Do I have mental capacity issues that impact my ability to think?
- Do I have memory issues that impact my ability to function?
- Do I have emotional issues that impact how I handle stress?
To illustrate bullet point number four above, I just added one more question to my list: “Have I come to work still wearing my slippers?” If I ever do that, it is probably time for me to be done!
I have often been reminded that since God has been with me long before I began my winding career journey, preparing, providing for, and sustaining me through every trial, He will see me through to the end and beyond. The third stanza of the classic hymn, “Amazing Grace” often comes to mind as I ponder these things: “Twas grace that brought us safe thus far, and grace will lead us home.”
Closing thoughts
If you have worked over several decades for your entire adult life, you most certainly deserve a huge break from the unrelenting thorns and thistles of a 9-5 job. After we retire, we all need and want some freedom to travel and see the grandkids before we are physically unable to do so.
However, I want to encourage my fellow seasoned workers to take a biblical approach to your upcoming retirement. The cultural or creation mandate called men and women to expand and sustain God’s creation (Gen. 1:28). After we retire from paid employment, we still have work to do in our families, churches, and communities. We may slow down, but our work is not over.
It probably could go without saying, but God’s promise of His enduring presence is a given for every member of the body of Christ. At the same time, He deals with us as individuals. Your situation is different from mine and everyone else’s. He will lead you in the way you should go. God promises to give wisdom to all who ask Him in faith (James 1:5). His timing is perfect. I believe He will make it absolutely clear to you and me when it is time to exit the workforce.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Russ Gehrlein
Featured Image by Julita from Pixabay
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