We pray and reflect about this week’s topic.
Loading Content... The link has been copied to your clipboard; paste it anywhere you would like to share it. Another extreme approach, in addition to those we saw yesterday, is to see work as something to avoid at all costs. It’s not a new sentiment – many have seen work as a necessary evil in history. The Greek Philosopher Aristotle saw the ability to live without having to work as a primary qualification for a worthwhile life.
Some try to work themselves as hard as possible to get to retirement, financial independence, partner, or some other goal as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, life is seldom forgiving of such imbalance. I once met a recently retired school bus driver. He’d worked hard at a number of difficult jobs in his life, and had just retired to live the good life. Unfortunately he discovered at the same time that his health was failing, and he was going blind and deaf in the process.
He’d worked himself so hard, thinking the promised land was coming, ignoring his children and grandchildren by his own admission. All that time, he didn’t notice he was supposed to live life and rest along the way, not just at the end. No one ever promised or owed him a certain kind of retirement – yet he’d gambled his health and youth on just such a fantasy.
Work isn’t fulfilling, without work in balance. Rest isn’t fulfilling, except in balance with work.
That isn’t to say there won’t be seasons of busy, hard work when rest is hard to find. Starting a busyiness, residency, apprenticeship, times you need extra cash, all need hard work. But we need to balance those times with seasons of rest, as well. Don’t expect it will always come later.
For example, at one time a goal for early, luxurious retirement was a million in assets – but inflation means that a million isn’t worth what it used to be. Look at Toronto real estate. If that had been your goal, it quickly inflated out of reach.
Another example is retirement age – many people thought they just had to make it to age 65. Now suddenly the normal retirement age is two years later, at age 67. By the time I retire, who knows where it will be! If that age was my goal, it only took an act of parliament to snatch it away. Such numerical goals keep changing, and can’t be our true purpose in life.
Question: When will you know it’s time to retire? How much will you need to save, what will you need to accomplish? Will you ever retire? From Series: Work and Rest | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download AudioShare a Link to this Message
Ryan Sim - August 5, 2015
Wednesday - Change It - Working Badly
More Messages Associated With "Work"...
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Friday - Reflect - Working Well
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Thursday - Act On It - Working Well
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Wednesday - Change It - Working Well
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Tuesday - Study It - Working Well
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Monday - A New Idea - Working Well
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Friday - Reflect - Working Badly
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Thursday - Act On It - Working Badly
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Wednesday - Change It - Working Badly
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Tuesday - Study It - Working Badly
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Monday - A New Idea - Working Badly
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Friday - Reflect - We Need Work
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Thursday - Act On It - We Need Work
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Wednesday - Change It - We Need Work
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Tuesday - Study It - We Need Work
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Monday - A New Idea - We Need Work
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Friday - Reflect - Reset: Work
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Thursday - Act On It - Reset Work
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Wednesday - Change It - Reset Work
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Tuesday - Study It - Reset Work
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