This Chapter of Life: A Practical Theology of Retirement

By Stan Basler

An exploration of retirement from a biblical theological perspective emphasizing the practice of living. It is intended as a guide for Christian believers contemplating or entering retirement or for persons working with them. It is both theological and autobiographical.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Feb 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9781543963861

Book preview

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright© 1989 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

©2018 Rev Dr. Stan Basler. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

ISBN: 978-1-54396-385-4 ISBN eBook: 978-1-54396-386-1

Introduction

A Subjective Theological Process

Planning

Stewardship Decisions

What Does the Lord Require?

Health and Many Pages

Living Biblical Retirement

The Adjustment of Letting Go

Intergenerational Considerations

Family Issues

Living with Finitude

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Retirement has now become an accepted and anticipated chapter of life in the USA. Believers and non-believers ask many of the same questions before they retire.

How much money will I need to sustain myself and my needs until my life ends?

What will I do with my time when no longer working in my career or chosen field?

What do I really want to do that I haven’t done?

See the world?

Jump out of an airplane?

Devote myself to church and volunteer work?

Start a business or non-profit?

For each of these, the question may also be ‘why?’

Am I seeking pleasure or education, fulfilling a duty or vision, avoding accountability, or yearning to please God and contribute to God’s mission?

Other questions might be:

Can I adjust to the loss of significance, titles, influence, challenges, etc.?

What do I do to adjust?

How far into the future should I make commitments?

Can I simply change my attitude, or must I find new pursuits?

What health challenges will I face?

What limitations must I accept as to new interests, time, health, other demands of life?

A Subjective Theological Process

For believers, the central question becomes what is a practical theology of retirement? It may seem that retirement, as a predictable chapter of life, is not anticipated in the Bible (except for a single verse regarding Levites in Numbers.) The Bible, it seems, lacks specific instruction about this now ubiquitous reality. The purpose of this essay is to engage in exploration, to plumb scripture, experience, tradition and rationally establish some guideposts for retirement theology. It is written for Christian believers.

It is also written very subjectively as will often be clear. It was written as I processed some of these issues in specific ways. You, as the reader, may experience varying levels of disagreement with some positions taken,