Reluctant Retiree

When I was younger I thought that I would die in my fifties. This idea was not just morbid or negative thinking. Both my father and his father died at 50 years old. So I thought that this was also my destiny.

I am now 71 years old. What made the difference in my longevity over my ancestors? Well, the natural answer is that I had a somewhat healthier lifestyle. They both drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes heavily. My father died of his third heart attack. I don’t drink or smoke.

However I think that there is something more at play here. I believe that the blessings of God that have kept me alive. Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t think that I am somehow better than others, including my father, and, therefore more deserving of long life. I just believe that God is God and He chooses to do what fulfills His purposes. And He has chosen to give me a longer life. It is a matter of His grace toward me.

So in my younger days I was not sure that I would see grandchildren. Now I have six grandkids and really enjoy each one, all with different gifts and personalities. What a wonderful season of life! Proverbs 17:6 says, “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of their fathers.” I couldn’t agree more. I have six glorious crowns and am very grateful to my heavenly Father.

I think we all try to predict the future, at least for our own future. I do this almost subconsciously. No matter what I am doing, I have a picture of the outcome in my mind. The problem is that I am rarely completely accurate. My expectations are far from reality.

We all do something like that, even on a small scale. We have predictions for how our favorite team is going to do on the season or in a particular game. We have certain expectations on what our government will do for us. We look into the future for economic conditions and trends. And we visualize a future for our relationships.

While we may have some basis for these expectations, our desires often bias these predictions. In addition, we cannot know all the things that will impact our future.

However, one prophetic voice can be trusted. God knows exactly what will happen and speaks faithfully about the future in the Bible. I Thessalonians 4:14-17 says, “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

Jesus will return for those who have put their trust in Him. We don’t know when that will happen, but we do absolutely know that it will happen. Then we will be with Him forever more. If you have given your life to Jesus and believed in His salvation, you can trust in His eminent return for you. If you haven’t given your life and trust to Jesus, please do not wait to do so. The time of His return is near.

After every NFL touchdown you can count on a dramatic, choreographed celebration. The purpose is to draw attention to themselves and their achievement. I am glad to see that some players include their teammates in the celebration, because they could not have scored a touchdown without help. Most of these players will tell you that they are just having fun, but the utter lack of spontaneity points to a demand for attention as well.

I understand this behavior from celebrities as they have to have a certain amount of boastful pride in order to succeed in their businesses. However, when we do average things and then thump our chests and point to ourselves, we are expecting rewards that aren’t deserved.

Jesus cautioned us against seeking honor from men. Matthew 6:1 says, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” It is far greater to do good works to honor God than to do the same things to win the praise of men. We demonstrate our love for God by honoring Him in this way.

Generally I am a very practical person. Most times I do not purchase things that I do not need. However, sometimes a shiny new object captures my attention and I just have to have it. While it brings a temporary joy, it doesn’t endure nor satisfy.

I am old enough now that I have seen what happens to one’s possessions at the end of a lifetime. Obviously you can’t take your worldly goods with you when you die. Some people arrange to have their properties distributed to descendants or charities. But often these possessions are simply discarded, even though the owner had worked hard for them and treasured them. This is all very sad to me and seems to be such a waste.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned us of this dilemma. In Matthew 6:19-21 He says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ”

The problem is that we misjudge temporal things as having great value. God says that heavenly things have the greatest worth. A godly character and and righteous living are the things that will have everlasting worth and benefit.

My wife and I are in the process of moving to a Condo we just purchased. For the past 5 days we have been cleaning and painting. The idea is to make the inside as good looking as the outside.

When my wife was young, her family instituted the Clean Dish Club. The idea was to reward the children for eating well, so that they could stay healthy and strong.

Jesus often strongly criticized the Jewish leaders for their rules. The rules focused on outward behavior and ignored their hearts. Jesus taught that what was in the heart was more important than outside appearances.

II Timothy 2:21 says, “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.” Let’s ask God to do the cleansing work on our hearts so that we can be ready for the good works He has prepared for us.

I have long had a problem with overstating my opinions. For example, I will say that I hate something when I really mean that I just don’t care for it. Or I will say that something someone did was dumb, when I just mean that I wouldn’t have done that. I don’t know why I use exaggeration or how I got started. What I do know is that this habit often gets me in trouble because others react to my strong words.

I need to heed the words of Colossians 4:6, which says, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” I need to learn to think more carefully before I speak, so that my words can be gracious and fitting.

I feel different based on the clothes I wear. If I wear a suit or tuxedo, I feel distinguished and honorable. When I am wearing shorts or jeans, I am casual and patient about things. I can be goofy and extroverted when I put on a costume. It’s funny how we appear affects changes to our personality.

While it may be true that our outside appearance may affect our inner nature, it is also true that our inner character definitely impacts how we appear to others. God wants us to take care of our character. In Colossians 3:12-13, He commands us to “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

If we ask Him, God will give His Spirit to help us make these internal changes. Then we will reap the interpersonal, social, mental and emotional rewards.

When the stars turn out for the awards shows, there is as much talk about their appearances as the awards. Everybody wants to see what each of the stars is wearing. Afterwards, the entertainment shows discuss the night’s fashion, criticizing some and praising others. It’s a good thing that I am never invited to one of those award shows. I have nothing in my closet worthy of these events.

Ah, but I will be appropriately dressed for the biggest awards of all time. Colossians 3:4 says, “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” When Jesus returns, He will gather those who have believed in Him, and takes to be with Him forever more. At that time, the Bible says, we will be given new bodies. These resurrected bodies will be glorious as He is glorious. You won’t want to miss this. You are invited. Accept the invitation by believing in Jesus for salvation and giving your life to Him.

I have heard of people who make their first thoughts in the morning thoughts of joy. They claim that this practice changes their outlook during the whole day. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it seems to make sense. After all, the opposite is true. We’ve all heard the expression, “he got out of bed on the wrong side”. This expression indicates that a person is in a bad mood because they started the day with bad thoughts.

The Bible confirms that what we think about does affect our attitudes and actions. Colossians 3:1-2 says, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ” Thinking about love leads to being a loving person. Joyful thoughts bring us joy. Contemplating peace leads to a peaceful outlook. I think that we should give this a try. What have we got to lose other than our bad attitudes?

I am a bit of a people watcher. I study people by the way they do things as a way of understanding them a little better. One of my favorite places to do this is the airport. Watching people through their excitement of travel or their sorrow of leaving is always interesting.

One thing that I have noticed is the different walking styles of people. Some walk with an air of arrogance in their strut. Some people show a sense of despair in their slumped shoulders and shuffling feet. Then there is anxiousness of the hurried pace.

Of course, there is no correct or preferred style of walking. It is all just a matter of personality and situation. However, God wants all of us to walk in a manner worthy of His lordship. Colossians 1:10 tells us how to do that; “so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. ” So to walk in a worthy manner, we must do what pleases God, do good works that bear fruit for Him, and continually increase in the knowledge of God. We can only do these things when we are surrendered to Him.