Pastor's Ponderings, March 7, 2016

Planning For Your Future

Do you have enough money in your financial accounts to take you through your retirement years in comfort? Brian Stoffel, in the October 2015 issue of Motley Fool, wrote that “Most of us do not because instead of having enough retirement savings, ...we have this insidious habit, as Americans, of continually upgrading our possessions as we get older and earn more money. …Ironically, if we could resist temptation and stay off the hedonistic treadmill, we would both (1) find ourselves happier and (2) be doing a better job of saving for retirement, as our lifestyle would cost less, as would our requirements for a comfortable retirement.”

Thank God for this wisdom about retirement savings, but have you considered how much you will need in eternity?  We are all scheduled for death and after death, we have to give an account of what we have done in life before God (Hebrews 9:27).  Many have spent their lives trying to continually make more money so that they could enjoy their working lives and then spend their senior years in comfort.  However, they spend little time contemplating eternity after death. 

Can you imagine have a fully funded IRA, millions of dollars in a 401K, and a paid off mortgage on an expensive home?  Wouldn’t it be nice to have passive income that allows one to travel, dabble in hobbies, visit friends, play with grandchildren and simply retire from the rat race?  As great as that sounds, it pales in comparison to the peace one feels in knowing they will spend eternity with God. There is no greater love than when God gave His Son for our sins so that we could enjoy not just retirement, but an eternity of rest with Him (John 3:16).

Yes, it is great to have met your financial goals, but what about your spiritual goals for your life?  Have you made God first in your life? Did you tell others about what God has done for you?  Are you living according to God’s word when no one is watching?

Thank God for investment income, income property, and great allocation of resources, but it is most important that we plan for an eternal future that is prepared by God (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

Hebrews 9:27
New International Version (NIV)

27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.

John 3:16
New International Version (NIV)

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life

1 Timothy 6:17-19
New International Version (NIV)

17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.