Genesis 5:28-29 “When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. He named him Noah and said, ‘He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed.’”
Farm labor was still hard work because of thistles and thorns. God included them as part of the fall. Add to this the problems of loss-of-strength due to aging. Lamech, the son of Methuselah lived to be 777 years old, but his father outlasted him. I wonder if he took care of his father. I am sure that godly son Noah did what was right for his father – and his grandfather.
Principle: Prepare for old age with savings, retirement funding, and social security and be nice to your offspring.
Old age and disability are issues that people need to make plans for. Solutions come through personal savings, government programs such as social security, medical programs, and children willing to be caregivers.
You need to think it through. It is presumptuous to assume that God will automatically take care of those who fail to make adequate preparation.
Retirement or job change is necessary in manual labor. This was true in the agricultural economy of Lamech. Everyone faces the possibility of work ending due to feebleness, illness, injury or diminished capacity.
Plan for an active retirement to avoid being bored to death. Consider opportunities suggested in books such as Second Half by Bob Bufford. The best years may be yet-to-come.
On the other side, you might be the one to care for an ailing spouse or an aging parent. Prepare for that kind of an outcome. I went to a life expectancy questionnaire the other day and it said I could live to be 102 based on my answers. Oh no! Only God knows.
Discussion:
1. What provisions have you made for your old age?
2. Have you consulted with a life expectancy expert about the future? Was the advice good, affordable, or too speculative?
3. Is acting on general intuition or specific advice on this matter easy or difficult for you?
Does arriving at a secure position for you seem do-able?
