In midlife we often experience an overload of activity. There's a lot of pressure at work, tension at home, and demanding duties at church. People get nearly burned out. They look forward to retirement when they can slow down and relax. Some Christians think, "I'll back off my weekly responsibilities at church that tie me down so I can travel and have a lot of free time."
In their mind they think, "I'll do some spontaneous volunteer work as I have the time but I just don't want to be tied down to regular duties." But the problem is that as they drift away from involvement, pretty soon they don't feel as much a part of the church and their relationship with God often wanes.
Advertisement
The Bible relates that Eli, the High Priest, got complacent in his old age. He turned over his priestly duties to his irresponsible sons and tolerated it when they exploited the women who came to worship and stole meat from the people's sacrifices. God eventually told Eli, "Because you have honored your sons more than me by failing to restrain them, and because you have fattened yourself by eating their stolen meat, I am cutting short the influence of your family and you will die in disgrace."
There is a temptation, like Eli, to become self-indulgent and spiritually passive when you become a senior. But many people are just hitting their stride by age 55. Pollstarâ recently listed the top moneymaker entertainers for 2002. The first ten musical artists on tour were all over 50. Number one was Paul McCartney (61), Mick Jagger (60), Cher (57), Neil Diamond (62). You have to go to number 14 to find someone under 35 — Brittany Spears.
When Bob Hope turned 100 he joked to his family, "I'm so old they've canceled my blood type." Art Linkletter is in his 90's and still speaking and making television appearances. Paul Harvey just signed a multi-year deal for his radio show and he's 85. Billy Graham is 84 and still leading crusades.
But the cure for spiritual retirement is continual service, regardless of age. In Numbers 8:25, the priests were commanded, " . . . at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer." So there is precedent in the Bible for retiring. There does come a time in life to redirect energies. I'm not saying you should do the same thing in church at age 70 that you did at age 25.
But don't quit your church commitments just because you're older. Continue to be active. You can use the additional time for service for Christ instead of self-indulgence. The Bible says, "Be faithful to the point of death and I will give you a crown of life."
Some of the most valuable volunteers we have are recently retired people. Chet Sutterlin was 73 when he was added to the construction team to help oversee the building of this facility we are in today. Clark Esser, the construction manager, was 80, and we needed Chet to bring down the average age of the construction team!