July 01, 1985 by Ralph D. Winter

I heard just this morning about two missionary families that have found a nice place to retire, across the street from each other.

"Retire"? Where in the Bible do they see that? Did Moses retire? Did Paul retire? Peter? John? Do military officers retire in the middle of a war?

Have we now so far imbibed the secular humanism that says 'your life is yours to use as you please"? And, "after the age of XX you can forget about the problems of the world and the pressing challenges of the ends of the earth? What kind of arbitrary Mickey Mouse theology is it that "frees" us from obedience to God at some particular age level?

I am particularly perturbed when even missionaries are slipping out of the harness. I don't care so much about other people, do I? After all, they are not called of God to permanent obedience to His Highest, are they? Or are they? What about the pastor who is going to give 1/3 of his salary for 36 months? He's taking the "war effort" seriously. Is this war against global darkness just for missionaries to take seriously? Stop and think for a moment. See page 20 for that phenomenal challenge.

Back to those missionaries. They're friends of mine. I take it all back. Who knows what they are doing. I'm just scared for them. Scared of the "Retirement Booby Trap" that kills and maims and destroys so many lives each year "the biggest killer disease in America today.'" Most men don't die of old age, they die of retirement. I read somewhere that half of the men retiring in the state of New York die within two years. Save your life and you'll lose it. Just like other drugs, other psychological addictions, retirement is a virulent disease, not a blessing.

The last few pages should give you some good ideas about how to live in aggressive service, not defensive retirement!