7 Sins That May Hinder God's Plan for You in Your RetirementSample

1. PRIDE hinders God’s Plan for Your Retirement

One of the top roadblocks to living out your retirement in line with God’s Plan is PRIDE.

Your first reaction to this may be that this is not possible or is not the case for you… but hear me out.

Especially if you retired from a position with some authority, such as a leadership or management function, then the sin of PRIDE can easily get in the way of you living out God’s Plan. If you didn’t have a job function like that, feel free to skip the rest of this reading and start with the next one, as it may be a better fit for you.

Here’s why your “high-level” job may be getting in the way…

In your job and maybe throughout your career, you had support staff and team members who helped build your success. Some of these people completed menial tasks, while others were higher-level team members sharpening your ability to succeed.

Now that you are retired, these people are gone and your realm of authority may have been reduced to taking the dog for a walk! Talk about taking a step down…

Now, it may be great not to go to work anymore and just walk the dog at your leisure instead. But what happens when your church is asking for someone to help with child care, children’s church, baking, cleaning, visiting shut-ins, or other tasks that don’t seem to “fit” for you? Most likely, you pass on these because they are not your gift.

At least, based on your recent career, these don’t look like your thing, do they? And, even if you have the time, you don’t feel called to “drop down” to the level of helping kids or old folks. But if that’s where the need is, and you’re not already fully busy, why not?

PRIDE. That’s why.

What’s happening is that you want to live up to your former standard, to be seen as a leader, a manager, a boss. And, dropping “down” to help at those “lower” levels, doesn’t appeal to you.

It’s your PRIDE that’s in the way, isn’t it?

After all, if you have the time, and can help where there is a need, why are you not doing that? How do you know that it isn’t God’s Plan for you to do so?

Let’s re-read our Bible verses of today to see how God thinks about “stooping down” to help others:

Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.– Romans 12:16b

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.– Philippians 2:3

Setting aside the sin of PRIDE in your retirement is the first step to becoming an elderly SAINT. Can you do that?