Christians on FIRE: Should Christians Retire Early?
Is God against us enjoying the fruits of our labor? Not at all. In fact, God wants us to enjoy the result of our work. However, our priority is the Kingdom! This should be our mindset as Christians.
Welcome to the 61st post of The Aim and Soar Life, a weekly newsletter about faith, personal growth, and lifestyle that provides actionable, relatable, and biblically rooted content to help you live abundantly and GROW YOU. GOD’S WAY.
Greetings!
Yaay! It’s May! Our theme for the month is Minding Your Money.🤑
Money and finance are two of my favorite topics if you haven't already realized it, and it’s not because I’m some money guru, but because I’ve learned some valuable money skills through my money mistakes!😂
Those mistakes have enabled me to improve in handling my money and to coach others. The best lessons are the lessons you can learn from the mistakes of others instead of your own. There are over 2,000 verses in the Bible about money. God is telling us something!😍
Are You on FIRE???
A few years ago, I came across a few articles on what’s called the FIRE (Financial Independent Retire Early) movement. A 1992 book called Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship With Money and Achieving Financial Independence by Vicki Robin and Joseph R. Dominguez is thought to be the catalyst for the FIRE movement.
People in this movement work feverishly to save and invest their money in order to reach their FIRE number, which is the amount of money they need to be able to quit working and live off their investments, so they can pursue the things that really matter to them in life.
According to a Nerd Wallet article, your FIRE number is achieved by multiplying your annual expenses by 25. This is called the rule of 25. FIRE followers are known to develop extreme saving habits to make it happen.
This got me thinking, “Should Christians retire early?”
Should Christians Retire Early?
Well, we know that everything we have is from God. Therefore, our money, assets, and time belong to God. We are to be good stewards of the resources He has given us.
The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 shows us that God expects a return on His investments (i.e. our time, talent, gifts etc.…).
We are to use what God has given us and multiply it for the Kingdom, not for our own selfish desires.
Is God against us enjoying the fruits of our labor? Not at all. In fact, God wants us to enjoy the result of our work. However, our priority is the Kingdom! This should be our mindset as Christians.
12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, 13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.
Ecclesiastes 3:12-13, NKJV
Therefore, if you want to cut back on your spending and greatly adjust your lifestyle so that you can save and invest enough to retire from your job earlier than say the usual ages of 65-70, there is nothing in Scripture that speaks against this.
You would be enjoying the fruit of your labor!
Adopting a mindset that you are managing resources for God, provides a fresh perspective on what you should be doing with your money.
Building generational wealth and teaching your kids to honor God with their resources can have a huge impact on Kingdom work.
Think of all the great ministry work that can be done with sufficient funding.😍
You can create a legacy of church planters and ministry supporters by demonstrating good stewardship. Your good spiritual habits and the way you honor God with your possessions can rub off on your kids!
There is No Retirement From Ministry
Although we can retire from our vocations, we can never retire from ministry. As long as we are able, we are called to promote the Gospel and win souls for the Lord. We are called to aid the poor and the disenfranchised.
I’m sorry, (not sorry) 🤣but the only way you get released from ministry work is when you ahem, die!😂
Having more time on your hands due to retiring leaves more time for you to commit more of yourself to God’s work.
Working a 9 to 5 can make some ministry work prohibitive. Taking care of your children after work can lessen the time you can commit to your church or other ministries.
Being in a good financial position can relieve you of work stress by making work optional. It can also allow you to explore other interests and hobbies as you serve God with more of your time.
You can spend more time volunteering and making a difference in your community.
If you choose the FIRE path, remember that your end goal is to devote more of yourself to God’s work! And you can have some fun along the way
Peace and Blessings to You!
Until Next Time,
GROW YOU. GOD’S WAY.
Sherrhonda😍
P.S.
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