Start now to follow me. Send your treasures ahead of you to Heaven, secured forever from destruction and loss—Matthew 6:20 (King Jimmy Translation).
Prepare for Retirement
Retirement—oh, how sweet. It’s the dream of every normal working person. Some eager-beavers plan for retirement right after high school, while others delay retirement plans until they are established in their careers. Most workers probably wait a few years before retirement age to put money away, after the mortgage is paid, the kid’s college is out of the way, and they finally get that new set of Callaway clubs with the Big Bertha Epic driver.
Have you seen the story about Derrell Alexander? He’s the 100-year old car salesman for White Mountain Motors in Casper, Wyoming. Derrell made his first car sale sixty-six years ago and is still putting satisfied customers in new Chevys, or giving a good-looking 80-something year old young lady a deal on a cream-puff one-owner, only driven to the Bingo hall on Saturdays. Alexander said as long as he could get out of the house, retirement was never an option. [1]
How about Loran Wade? [2] In 1983, at age 70, he retired from the US Postal Service to become an associate at Walmart. He worked another thirty-one years before being called to be a higher associate. Wade stayed in the workforce more than ninety years, since his first job at age twelve. Imagine, not only did he live through World War I and WWII, or go from a windup phone to an iPhone, he watched awestruck as man landed on the moon. He experienced great breakthroughs in technology, like the app that gets up in the night to go pee for you, and saw drastic culture changes, from Prohibition to women gaining suffrage to Miley Cyrus-esque Walmart shoppers.
Some government workers retire while in their 50s, young enough to begin another career. Most workers retire in their 60s, while some, for one reason or another, work well into their 70s or 80s. Others hit a bonanza through risky investments as hedge fund managers or become professional athletes to earn their millions. Don’t get me started on politicians. That’s another story. Unless one is investment savvy, most use a financial planner to build a retirement program
Your humble Aggie scribe joined the retired ranks at the tender age of sixty-eight, after a forty-six-year career with Caterpillar and the heavy equipment industry. Mrs. Aggie and I worked with a financial advisor for several years to prepare us for retirement. We made some lifestyle changes to achieve our goals:
- Mrs. Aggie sold her shoe closet, except for her flip-flops and a pair of Keds High-Tops, and invested the $35,653 in a Roth IRA.
- I quit my golf lessons and deep-sixed my dream of playing on the PGA tour. Instead, on the advice of a hedge fund manager, I invested the $54,675.23 yearly expense in the promising merger between Gerber Baby Foods and Five Hour Energy drinks. (We have not seen the results on that investment yet.)
- After the Aggie’s narrow 77-0 loss to Oklahoma, I sold the entire 2003 Texas A&M football team on eBay. The A&M Chancellor stepped in before the money transfer and re-negotiated the price to $750 but allowed me to keep the original amount of $150.
Folks trust their financial advisors with their money and assets to secure their earthly retirements. Retirement plans usually include a mortgage-free home, travel, fun activities with family and friends, while confident their money will last until Jesus comes. God is good but life is unfair. Remember 2008? The financial meltdown crippled many retirement plans. Overnight, 401(k)s became 201(k)s. Large percentages of retirement investments vanished.
But who do we trust about the security for our ultimate retirement—where will we retire for eternity? What treasures are we laying up in Heaven for our eternal retirement?
In his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus stated clearly in the Beatitudes that we should lay up treasures in heaven, where they are forever safe. He followed with this truth: “wherever your heart is, there will be your treasure.” You can read Matthew 6 for the details, but allow me to paraphrase this sermon in simple terms. Jesus said: “If you want to send treasures ahead of you to Heaven, kept there for your reward, just make me, Jesus, your treasure.”
Become a Christ-follower. Believe the work Christ did as the sacrifice for our sins. As God changes us, he makes direct deposits in our heavenly bank account. For instance, when we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength—God makes a deposit. Love your neighbor—another deposit slip with your name is submitted. Pray for one another, forgive those who offended you, be generous yet remain anonymous—more deposits. Help the poor, stand up for those who cannot speak up for themselves, show mercy, shun evil, hate injustice, love the unlovely—we send more deposits heavenward. These good works, noble as they are, cannot save us. God’s gift of salvation is obtained only by placing our faith in Jesus. Funny, but for some reason, these good deeds just follow those who follow Christ.
The Lord God is our eternal retirement advisor who always steers us into the right investments. No need to worry about meltdowns.
Lord Jesus, you are our treasure, here on Earth as well as in Heaven. The treasures we send ahead to you are kept safe forever.
Stay close to Jesus.
Jimmy
P.S. Walmart advertised another “Roll Back.” They rolled back Loran Wade’s age from 103 years to 78 years to get another 25 years of service.
Jimmy Eskew © 2017
[1] http://casperjournal.com/community/article_430d4eeb-7cfa-5484-bb37-3d29df917e6f.html
THANKFUL 
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