The Lord said to Moses, “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the tent of meeting, but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the tent of meeting, but they themselves must not do the work. This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites.”
(Numbers 8:23-26 NIV)
While retirement is our God-given right, it’s not meant to make us inactive. When the Levites retired at the age of fifty, they were still encouraged to assist the younger generation in performing their duties at the Tent of Meeting. God knew that if the older generation of Levites quit working, they’d feel useless. I know many people who have retired, but who still find something to do and I notice that it keeps them vibrant and happy. They have set an example that I’d like to follow when I reach retirement age.
Retirement doesn’t mean we quit working. It just means that we work less than we used to.
