Is Retirement a "Biblical" Thing?

We save for, plan and dream about retiring but what does that say about our happiness with our current situation?

I am trying to find some biblical examples where "retirement" is brought up. In the Old Testament there are certainly examples of succession and replacing but nothing quite like spending your golden years doing traveling the world or enjoyig the grandchildren. In the New Testament it seems like all of the promiment figures work right up till their death, even if that death isn't always due to natural causes. Regardless, the bible doesn't seem to talk much about retiring the same way that we do.

I think there are two ways to look at this situation; first, are we finding fulfillment in our life's work? Are we able to combine what we enjoy with our work or are we simply working because it pays the bills and brings in a good wage? We are far too consumed with our occupations. Our work defines us, it brings us purpose but what if we dont enjoy our work? What if we have a passion but we cant find a career in it because it doesnt pay enough?

The second approach involves finding purpose outside of our jobs. What if our occupation was only a portion of our identity, only a way to fund what we really enjoy doing? This was how Paul lived his life. He was known to be a tent maker (Acts 18:3) and he used his occupation to fund his real passion, telling others about Jesus. He never built up a retirement fund and worked up until his death. He worked to fund his mission and found his identity not as a tent maker but as a missionary.

For most of us this is a lofty goal, myself included. But let's take a moment and think about our identity and where we find it. Let's enjoy the present and not dream about the time when we dont have to work any more. Let's realize that we can work for God until the day we go home and in doing so find greater purpose. Pastor Chris