Christians understand that one can retire from a certain occupation but for the remainder of their lives on earth they should never retire from good works. Those who continuously serve the gospel inside and outside their local church (in their homes, workplaces, social gatherings, etc.) by evangelizing other people and making disciples, show that God's love is truly in them and takes priority over anything and everything else. Such good works will be overt (clearly displayed for others around you) and at other times covert (concealed in your lifestyle, communications, or private encounters with others).
Paid ministry can be very valuable and sometimes is absolutely necessary within the Church, yet other types of work are just as valuable. In fact, every one of the LORD's children should see themselves as full-time ministers as we serve in any field of legitimate work including accounting, auditing, household domestic engineering, clerical, administrative support, janitorial, doctoral, etc. Along with using the great intellect and physical ability He gives us to make the widgets, technological advances, and business increases favorable for our lives and the lives of other people, we also seek to influence them to Christ by our ever “maturing in Christ” lifestyle and communication. In His kingdom and to people who see truth clearly, volunteer and low wage workers are just as valuable as high wage, executive, and famous workers when their feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
God and those who know Him honor every one in any legitimate field who seeks to be productive and fruitful in building the kingdom of God in the hearts of men. This benefits society by reproducing men and women with godly moral fiber. For example, honor should always be placed on a wife or mother who does not work for an employer but works to meet her family’s needs and communicates the hope of salvation and eternal life to them and other people through how she lives, maintains the home, and communicates.
You should never retire from being fruitful in evangelizing & discipling others. That is never God’s plan for you. The bible never identifies that possibility for the faithful though you can certainly enjoy a pension and greater freedom from having to work for income because the LORD has provided and you have been disciplined to steward and grow investments to be more than enough for you to live on for the rest of your life. A faithful Christian, no matter his / her age, only replaces one mission field for another group of people to which he / she will minister and never retires to a life of complete inactivity or leisure, so the gates of hell (the devil’s tactics, strategies, fiery darts, accusations, etc.) will not prevail against you. So before you retire from your current workplace, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in crafting a plan identifying the ministry you will engage in your next field of endeavor.
Please pray for this ministry and email me with any questions. May the LORD bless you richly as you follow His plan!
Genesis 2:3, Proverbs 10:4, Romans 12:11-13, 2Thessalonians 3:10-14
Please forward these bondage-breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!
You can find books authored by Randy Parlor and Karen Parlor at www.Amazon.com
You can find many other MoneyWalk articles on Facebook by looking at the NOTES created by Randy Parlor at https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000444069041&sk=notes.
You can connect with Randy Parlor on Twitter and Linkedin
You can also view and/or listen to MoneyWalk articles at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXnztOIesOKIrSd_H6c-8mQ
No comments:
Post a Comment