Thought Provokers 

Beatitudes for retirement

Be attractive. If your retired life feels like a heavy load and you are nearly always tired out, worried about what you have to do, and nearly always too busy to respond to other people – then what does that say about your God? Enjoy God’s good gifts of friends, nature, arts, reading, music, sport, food. But beware of envying those who can do more. Be thankful.  Contentment is also very attractive.

Be intentional. Hopefully a major aim for you is to be fruitful in helping others come to know Jesus. This means making sure that not all your time is spent with other Christians. What groups might you be interested in joining that have a large proportion of non-Christians? How can you make the most of those opportunities?

Be different. There is a danger in thinking that talking about Jesus is the only way to be fruitful in our interactions with others. Mark Greene, in his excellent book ‘Fruitfulness on the Frontline’, points out six ways we can be different and shine as lights in a dark world (Phil 2:15).  These include things like how we treat others, how we do our work, and how we shape the culture around us.

Be adventurous. Are you willing to change; to try something new? New challenges, stepping out of our comfort zone, can increase our faith. Is there an area of need in the church that you could try out?

Be sensible. Even with the best intentions it is not easy to get it right first time in sorting out the various groups, activities, commitments, interests that will make up a large part of your retirement. Despite good research you may only find out whether something is right for you by trying it. If you don’t over promise, it is relatively easy to step away quickly. Be prepared to try out lots of things.

Be self-aware.  What are you good at? What makes you thrive and brings out the best in you? Play to your strengths. How well do you know your strengths and gifts? Also do you know your weaknesses e.g. laziness, obsessiveness, perfectionism, self-indulgence, escapism. (If you are not sure what your strength or gifts are then the SHAPE course (free online) could be helpful. Also, you may find it helpful to do a personality test, such as Myers Briggs, to know yourself better.)

Be servant hearted. Where does your family, your church, your community need you? Retirement is not an excuse to throw off all responsibility or to avoid any stress. This needs careful thought and prayer. We can become easy pickings for those who are desperate to claim our time and fill their rotas. 

Be perfect. The above are not the best beatitudes (see Matthew 5:3-12). Jesus tells us we should aim to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. Retirement is a great opportunity for physical health e.g. more time for exercise. Mental health e.g. more time for reading. It is also a great time for spiritual health. Perhaps there was a period in your life where you grew rapidly in your faith. Retirement provides another opportunity. We have more time to develop our daily bible study and prayer. We can go on courses or watch on line so much that builds our faith. Opportunities for fellowship – e.g. home groups, prayer triplets. Opportunities for service and witness also enrich our relationship with Jesus.