Die Bloody
Good Morning,
As we wrap up our conversation about taking our faith from idea to action there is one area that I am continually challenged with that runs counter to societal goals. It centers around the idea of retirement. I am going to ask you to please hang with me to the end this morning. My goal is to challenge us all without coming off as a jerk.
The idea we are sold is to work like crazy, save some money, sacrifice precious time with our family and then stop doing that. We are then free to play golf every day, sleep in, eat at the same restaurants on the same days with the same people and go somewhere warm for the winter months. There is little balance in this life; not much thought to staying in the game.
Now the goal of eventually cutting back from a hectic career and slowing down certainly has merit. Playing golf and enjoying warm weather in the winter are not wrong. Enjoying our favorite eating haunts is nice. The issue comes when those things become the primary focus of why we do what we do. If we dedicate our lives to something that temporal, I believe we are missing the mark. And be certain, it is “the mark” that determines the bulk of our actions and planning prior to reaching that point in time.
At a season when people may have more margin in terms time and money than any other period of their life, I fear that far too many are settling for a life filled primarily with comfort, order, and predictability. This, instead of leveraging all they have learned in prior years for something that will live on after them. It is the picture of a big front porch, a nice chair, feet up on a footstool and a cold drink in the hand. I confess that earlier in my career that too was my goal. It was (and still is) a badge of success and achievement. What I was confronted with however, is that it is based on a short-sighted measure of success. It is limited to the 80 or so years we have on this planet. I believe Scripture calls us to a greater mindset. Consider these verses.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 1 Cor 15:57
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 3:14
I have fought he good fight, I have kept the faith. From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day 2 Tim. 4:7-8
Perhaps like me, these verses challenge you to consider living for something more transcendent. Something that benefits others and at the same time keeps you growing and engaged. Here is another picture; one that I have kept in front of me for the last 20 years. It is the picture of someone who is engaged in the battle and whose goal it is to die bloody. Is that you?
Die Bloody
Questions to ponder this week:
1. Is your planning for the future including involvement in something that will live on after you?
2. What are you engaged in that continues to grow and stretch you?
Live on purpose, Ron Klopfenstein, CPLC
