Image: New York City’s famous Chess Tables in Washington Square Park–one of many pastimes available to the recently retired.
We raise children under constant talk of college and career:
You need to read more so you can get into a good college. You need to practice your lacrosse so you can get a scholarship. You need to develop good work habits now so you can have a great career someday.
These messages are ubiquitous. We train children to dream big and to want it all.
After a young adult lands a job, the talk changes:
Get promoted.
Earn more money.
Increase your responsibilities.
Be the CEO.
BE NUMBER ONE!
Is it ever enough? No. We encourage our children, our friends, ourselves to aspire to the highest of heights. To BE NUMBER ONE! As if everything we do is a competition—and there is no joy in participating, only in being the top dog.
Youth sports often reinforce this message: there is no pleasure in an activity. There is only pleasure in winning the activity. That message is destructive. Yes, we want to motivate children. But we must balance that with the love of the game. If playing the game is not fun, why bother? If the only way to enjoy school or an education is to be the valedictorian, then more than 99 percent of the students will not enjoy it. If I can only enjoy my career if I am the CEO, then thousands of us are destined to hate our jobs.
But this is nonsense. An education can be a source of tremendous pleasure, and not just for the top students. A career that rewards autonomy, creativity, and meaningful work can be deeply satisfying. And the average athlete will lose half of all games. Does that mean he had no fun on the field? Is there no pleasure in playing the game? Of course there is. People play games because games are FUN!
But what happens to the ambitious valedictorian-turned-CEO when life forces him to retire? If his health forced him to abandon his work, will he ever find pleasure again?
Consider the work of the Levites. These non-priest members of the tribe of Levi were responsible for moving the Ark of the Covenant and the tabernacle throughout the forty-year wilderness journey. But what about after Solomon built the temple? What responsibilities did they have left? What could they look forward to now that they were “retired” from the ark and the tabernacle?
When he was bringing reforms to a nation that had lost its way, King Josiah asked the men of Levi to step up:
“And he said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the Lord, ‘Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, did build. It shall not be a burden on your shoulders. Serve now the Lord your God and his people, Israel’” 2 Chronicles 35:3.
King Josiah explained it was time for the men of Levi to move on. They were “retired” from their work with the ark and the tabernacle. But there were many other tasks they could still perform. The nation needed them. The king needed them.
Like the Levites, one day we too will retire–from sports, from academics, from a career.
But God has more for us: travel, time with family and friends, maybe a few games of chess in Greenwich Village (pictured). Enjoy your retirement!
But while you are on this earth, God has Kingdom Work for you. As we age, our responsibilities narrow. We work less. We hobby less. We work in the yard less. We have fewer people living in our home, fewer mouths to feed, fewer meals to cook. Less laundry to handle. We do less at church. Sometimes it is our choice; sometimes we have no choice.
But as God reduces the responsibilities of the venerated generation, I believe he asks of them–offers them–something more: PRAY MORE.
I know it is easier said than done. But with decades of life experience, decades of shorter, smaller prayers behind you, and larger blocks of time in front of you, a growing and vibrant prayer life may be the secret to aging well (and storing up treasure in heaven).
Of course, aging makes even prayer more difficult. Maybe you lose your train of thought. Maybe you misplace the written prayer list you were working on. Maybe you struggle to stay awake. God may remove many of your once-distracting activities without removing some of those nagging hindrances to prayer.
But pray anyway. Pray more. Find a way. Write prayers down. Write answers down. Do whatever it takes to stay engaged. God may have given you this opportunity “for such a time as this” Esther 4:14. Use it! Be ambitious about it! Forget being a top student, a CEO, a star athlete.
Be Number One at prayer!
God will reward you.
“And when you pray, go into your closet and shut your door, and pray to your father who is in secret, and your father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you openly” Matthew 6:6.
And for the rest of us who may be years from retirement: pray more! Begin now building the skills that will make your retirement years the best years–and most EFFECTIVE years of your life.
AΩ
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