Stewardship and Sustainability: How Christian Wealth Management Strategies Can Help Secure Your Long-term Retirement Prospects
If you follow Jesus your life is not your own, and while it may be alarming at first, your wealth is not your own either.
As a Christian, everything you are and everything you own belongs to God alone. You are a steward, or a caretaker of God's resources.
Biblical stewardship principles guide how we as believers spend our time, talents, and money. They also determine how we take care of the environment, the way we do our jobs, and how we choose to invest.
The word stewardship means taking care of the property or belongings of another person. As a theological concept, stewardship is rooted deeply in scripture. It begins in the very first chapter of Genesis.
Genesis 1:28 says, "God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Immediately after, God created a lush garden and gave it to His people to tend and to enjoy. Notice God didn't just rain down food for people to eat. Instead, He gave human beings the right and responsibility to manage His creation for their benefit and His glory.
The world was God's from the beginning, and it will be God's until the end. Biblical stewardship begins with the theology of ownership.
Who Owns Your Stuff?
Scripture tells us…
"The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1
We are the stewards who manage God's resources. Every time we earn, spend, save, invest, or give money, we are acting as God's financial managers.
God doesn't just own everything. He's also the power behind the engine that produces your wealth. You may work very hard — saving and investing your income wisely — but it is God who gave you the skills and talents to earn your money.
Deuteronomy 8:18 says, "But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth."
As stewards of God's resources, we are not here just to collect toys and die. We live in this world to serve God and build His kingdom in everything we do and with everything we earn.
What Does God Have to Say About Retirement?
Not much.
At least, God doesn't say much about retirement if you mean the modern American version of retiring. The Bible does, however, talk about taking on new responsibilities in old age. It also discusses being a good steward of creation throughout our lives.
In Numbers 8:23-26, God instructed the Levites who served as priests to leave temple service at the age of 50. They were to undertake new work and leave room for younger priests to work in the temple. Other than that one instance, the Bible is remarkably silent about retirement.
Nothing in scripture gives a believer the option of exchanging a life of stewardship and service for a life of passivity and SportsCenter, no matter how old we get.
Modern Americans live much longer than most people did at any point in human history. We can expect to live into our 80s or 90s, and some of us will pass the century mark. God expects us to be stewards and servants our whole lives — cradle to grave — with no exception for “retirement.”
How Does Biblical Stewardship Affect Retirement?
Does good stewardship of money mean you have to give everything to charity and live like a Trappist monk until you pass away?
No. That concept isn't necessarily biblical either. We should, however, take time with God to identify our own personal convictions as it relates to how we use his resources and live our lives. Fortunately, the Bible is filled with instructions about how God's people should labor, rest, play, serve, give and enjoy God's world. In 21st century America, that might look different than it did for people in Old Testament times. But the principles haven't changed.
Biblical stewardship principles of money management include:
Spend less than you earn. Are spending within your means?
Don't be afraid of the future. Prepare for it. Saving responsibly honors God, serves our families, and lets us be generous for years to come.
Be cautious with debt. If you choose to carry debt, make sure you understand the consequences. Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.”
Be ridiculously generous. Often, happy people are generous people. More importantly, Godly people are generous people.
Invest wisely. Sound biblical investment may start by considering two questions. Why are you investing the first place? - let your investing be goal-driven and consider why you’re doing it in the first place. And will it harm others? (Look up "dishonest weights and measures" in your Bible concordance.)
Additionally, consider the parable of the talents (Matthew 25).
You can apply these principles to your financial strategy for retirement. Will you have enough money to give to others when you're retired, have you considered how much you will give? Are you saving for emergencies so you won't have to borrow? Are you getting out of debt as quickly as possible? Have you invested with God's principles in mind?
In general, when you save, give, invest, and stay out of debt over the long term, you are well on your way to a financially rewarding retirement.
What is Your Reward for Practicing Biblical Stewardship?
In Colossians 3:23-24, Paul writes, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
The first and most important reward comes from Christ. It's hearing Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
In this life, however, we also see rewards for practicing sound financial stewardship and wise money management. For example, we don't have to rely on our family or the government for help in old age. We can go on a mission with God after we leave the workforce — with money presenting no object. We can even leave a legacy of faith and wealth to our children and grandchildren.
To learn more about building your retirement strategy on sound biblical stewardship principles, contact Cooke Wealth Management. We would love to talk with you.