Which is better, a Sabbath or retirement?
Both are types of rest.
I got off on this tangent because of God threatening to withhold the hardhearted from His rest.
(Psa 95:10-11 KJV) Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.After a bit of thought I decided this referred to eternity. Eternal life was being referred to as “rest”. It is a synonym for what people think of as heaven.
The original reference to rest is at the end of creation. God used that as a reminder that He would provide for us, and you will find that the Sabbath rest is the reward for a week of work. I am thinking that eternity might be an alternating series of work and rest. What will be different from now is that the work will be fulfilling and filled with joy and the rest will always be refreshing.
Sabbath is restoring break because it is followed by more productivity. Retirement is different. It can fool us into becoming despondent. It can be destructive if it makes you feel you are not longer useful. This is a common feeling among older men.
If you believe what the Bible has to say then you know you don’t have to rust away. Notice that the KJV and NASB have one difference in the English. One says “full of sap” and the other says fat.
(Psa 92:14 NAS77) They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green,Maybe we could do a take off on “fat and sassy” to “fat and sappy”. No? Okay.
(Psa 92:14 KJV) They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
Retirement does not need to be a time of stagnation. I am looking for ways to continue to yield fruit. Join me.
homo unius libri
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