Shelburne faith column: Nobody can see what’s coming
Almost every day — sometimes several times a day — I hear my buddies in the gray hair/no hair generation confessing (or is that complaining?) that they had no idea what life would be like when they got to that age.
What would we have done differently if we had foreseen that one day, almost without warning, many of our physical abilities would vanish? It never occurred to me that one day I would no longer be able to climb a ladder or trim a tree or till a flowerbed.
Back when I was just beginning my ministry and we were living on a shoestring salary, pastors could choose whether to pay social security. Many of my young colleagues opted out. Now that I’ve been receiving those retirement checks every month for almost two decades, I’m glad I didn’t, but my decision was not based on information or insights. At that young age I didn’t have a clue what kind of financial challenges I would face when I turned 80.
Over fifty years ago, a leader in my church gave me some good advice. “You need to begin providing now for your retirement years,” he urged me. He knew that our denomination made up of totally independent congregations would provide no pension or retirement support. So he taught me how to buy and rebuild worn-out houses. At that time I enjoyed playing carpenter or roofer or plumber to renovate those shacks, but looking back now, I thank the Lord for that guidance that got me ready to be unemployed and disabled and old.
What are you doing to get ready for seemingly distant tomorrows?
Do you enjoy hiking or fishing or golfing or just walking around the block? Then do it today. While you still can.
Sooner than you may suspect, you may not be able to. It just takes one injury, one illness, or a few calendar page turns to put an end to the activities are now your normal fun.
I realize that Jesus taught us to live in the present and not waste our energy worrying about tomorrow, but that was not a restriction on wise planning for the future.
We pray to the Lord, “Give us this day our daily bread,” and he does. But one way he does that is by showing us wise ways to handle today’s blessings and to make sure that we enjoy them while we can.
Gene Shelburne is pastor emeritus of the Anna Street Church of Christ, 2310 Anna Street, Amarillo, Texas. Contact him at GeneShel@aol.com, or get his books and magazines at www.christianappeal.com. His column has run on the Faith page for almost four decades.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Shelburne column: Nobody can see what’s coming
