By the time we reach retirement, we have earned, saved, invested, and prepared for our financial future. Stewarding those resources is an incredible opportunity and privilege. But we may have spent more time considering how much money we need for retirement than what God wants to accomplish through our generosity in retirement.
Our hope in Jesus leads us to steward our resources with gratitude, wisdom, and generosity. And the Encore years can recalibrate our perspective on treasure, as we consider how God wants us to steward all he has entrusted to us.
Let’s ask and answer four questions that can shape how we steward our finances in our Encore years.
Whose treasure is it?
We believe God is the provider and owner of all things. It’s all His! Romans 11:36 says, “All things are from him, through him, and to him. To him be the glory forever!” Everything we possess ultimately comes from God, including our financial resources.
Though we have worked diligently to earn, save, and invest, we recognize that God provides the abilities, opportunities, and outcomes.
Retirement can be a significant shift from accumulating finances to drawing them down. Though our financial circumstances change, His ownership remains the same! We are stewards of what has always belonged to Him.
What is our treasure for?
God entrusts us with financial resources to glorify Him, reflect His generosity, and bless others.
In 1 Chronicles 29:14, David says, “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”
As we think about how we steward our resources, we are filled with gratitude and humility that God has blessed us. Financial responsibility is important, but our finances are not simply something we accumulate, protect or enjoy. They allow us to live sustainably, care for others, and participate in God’s mission.
What does faithful generosity look like?
It isn’t based solely on how much we give. As Jesus observes those who are giving in Luke 21, he observes that “the rich contributed out of their abundance, but the widow out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Faithful generosity begins with a heart posture of surrender and submission to God. The widow was ready and willing to give it all! Ask God to cultivate generosity within your heart, to reveal opportunities to serve others, and wisdom to steward your resources.
At a practical level, in Recalibrate Your Life, Kenneth Boa highlights characteristics of faithful generosity.
Give missionally, supporting work that advances the gospel throughout the world.
Give cheerfully rather than begrudgingly (2 Cor 9:7-8).
Give harmoniously, aligning your generosity with your spouse, children, church, and community.
Give sacrificially, believing God will multiply our gifts for His glory.
The greater story will not be how much we gave, but how God transformed our hearts and worked through our generosity in ways we never anticipated.
How can I grow in generosity?
Three ways we can do this:
Be attentive. Consider what breaks your heart in your neighborhood, your city, and around the world. People give when they see needs. What has God placed on your heart?
Get closer. Proverbs 29:7 says, “The righteous know the cause of the poor.” Relationships move generosity from a financial transaction to a personal investment in the lives of others.
Spend it on eternity. Be generous to opportunities that advance God’s kingdom, his justice, his word, and support people that are doing that work. Seeing the fruit of that work accelerates our desire to be even more generous.
Generous Because God is Generous
Generosity springs from serving a generous God. Romans 8:32 reminds us that God did not spare his own son but graciously gave Him for us all. Because we have received the most generous gift of all, we are free to give generously. The Encore years invite us to invest in God’s ongoing work that may bear fruit long after we graduate to heaven.
Wherever you are in the process of thinking about your Encore, there are a few simple next steps to choose from:
If you’d like to talk one-on-one, I’d be glad to connect.
Or if you’d rather ease into the conversation, you’re welcome to join us for one of our weekly lunches.
