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Many people today think that God only cares about meeting current needs.
At the Board of Retirement, however, we believe God not only cares about your present financial needs but about your financial future as well.
While the Bible contains more than 500 verses about prayer and nearly 500 verse about faith, more than 2,000 verses deal with the subject of money and possessions. Jesus referred to financial issues in 16 of His 38 parables. It is clear that this is a very important subject to God.
People tell me, “I’m not putting anything aside for the future because the Lord will come back before I need it.” While it’s true Christ could return today, it could also be tomorrow, 50, or even 500 years from now. The question then becomes, “Should we prepare for retirement if we believe He is coming soon?” The answer is clear…ABSOLUTELY!
We should live every day as if we knew this would be the day of His return. At the same time we should remember that we have a financial responsibility for our families and should carefully plan for their financial future as if we knew His return would be 50 years down the road.
It has been said that, “He who fails to plan, plans to fail.” Nowhere is that concept illustrated more clearly than in retirement planning. A sound financial plan can be the difference between the retirement of your dreams and the nightmare of discovering you have too little, too late.
If the Lord does tarry, the day will come when you leave the pulpit, and you will pass the torch to someone else. Christian schoolteachers, church secretaries, and custodians all step aside eventually and let someone else fill their position. The regular paychecks come to an end, but the bills continue to arrive. When that day comes, you need to be prepared emotionally, spiritually, and financially.
For more than 39 years, the mission of the Board of Retirement has been to assist Free Will Baptist ministers and lay employees in achieving long term financial wellbeing. The likelihood of living into your 80s and 90s increases with each passing year. Because human longevity is increasing, it is important to prepare for retirement now more than ever.
Saving for retirement may seem like an impossible task when you consider the amount of money needed to fund your later years. Just as it is hard to imagine how a tiny acorn can grow into a great oak tree, it is hard to imagine that modest but steady contributions eventually add up to support you as much as 30 years after you retire. The key? Both retirement accounts and oak trees need care, feeding, and time to grow. Let the Board of Retirement help you care for retirement assets so your savings provide a stable financial future.
While there is no “secret formula” to a successful retirement, the Board of Retirement is ready to help you identify and reach your financial goals, to make retirement comfortable for you and your loved ones.
About the Writer: D. Ray Lewis is the director of the Free Will Baptist Board of Retirement.
To learn more about your retirement options, visit www.boardofretirement.com or call (877) 767-7738.
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