*Note- this is a Biblical perspective, but even if you aren’t Christian, you can treat the Bible like any other historical book to glean wisdom. ☺️
“The two most dangerous years in a man’s life are when he is born and when he retires.”
— attributed to Mark Twain
I do believe in financial freedom and security, but retirement is one of those ideas we rarely question. You work hard for decades, save diligently, and eventually you earn the right to stop. Stop working. Stop being needed. Stop structuring your days around contribution.
It sounds peaceful. And yet, many people reach that stage only to feel oddly unmoored.
When I started reading the Bible with this question in mind, I noticed something surprising: retirement isn’t there. Not as a goal. Not as a reward. Not even as a concept. Work was also a part of the paradise, not a result of the fall.
That absence of retirement in the Bible feels worth paying attention to.
A very modern idea
In Scripture, work isn’t treated as a temporary inconvenience. It’s woven into what it means to be human. People farm, build, lead, teach, judge, advise, and create for as long as they are alive and able. Identity and contribution are tightly connected.
That doesn’t mean the Bible glorifies overwork. It doesn’t. But it also doesn’t imagine a finish line where purpose quietly fades out.
The closest thing to retirement
There is one passage people often point to: Numbers 8:24–26, where Levites step back from full service at age fifty.
At first glance, it sounds like retirement. But read closely and you’ll see what actually happens: they stop doing the heaviest physical labor and shift into support roles—assisting, guarding, mentoring.
They don’t disappear.
They don’t disengage.
They change how they serve.
It’s not an exit. It’s a transition.
No one finishes early
Look at the larger story and the pattern becomes clearer. Moses leads until the end of his life (Deuteronomy 34:7). Joshua completes his work and then dies (Joshua 24:29). Prophets speak until God removes them from the story.
No one announces they’re done because they’ve earned enough rest.
In the biblical imagination, purpose lasts as long as life does.
Rest, yes- but a certain kind
What the Bible does emphasize, again and again, is rest. Weekly rest. Seasonal rest. Rhythmic rest. Rest that repeats and renews.
Sabbath isn’t a reward for finishing everything. It’s a pause that makes it possible to keep going.
Rest is meant to live inside a meaningful life, not replace it.
Why retirement can feel so empty
Modern retirement often promises freedom from obligation. But obligation—when it’s chosen and meaningful—is often where purpose lives.
When contribution disappears entirely, many people don’t feel rested. They feel unnecessary.
The problem isn’t leisure. It’s leisure without responsibility, rest without rhythm, comfort without a reason to show up.
A different way to imagine the later years
The Bible quietly offers a different picture of aging:
Less physical strain, more wisdom-sharing, fewer tasks, deeper influence, mentoring instead of managing, presence instead of productivity
Not “stop working,” but work differently.
Where I’ve landed
I don’t believe the goal of life is to become unnecessary.
I believe in rest that repeats.
In work that changes shape.
In staying engaged, even gently, for as long as we’re here.
The Bible doesn’t invite us to retire from purpose.
It invites us to grow into it.
What do you think of this perspective? I’d love to know!
Tomorrow I’ll share how I’ve decided to structure the rest that repeats for a lifetime instead of a traditional retirement.
