The Time for Work
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It might be an American thing, but there’s this cultural expectation that now is the time for work and rest will come later. Put in the hours at your job. Sacrifice now. Retirement is when you’ll finally rest, kick back, and reap the rewards of a lifetime of hard work.
To me, something’s off about this. It can be taken to an extreme—no one dies wishing they had worked more.
But there’s also an element of truth here.
Deep down, I think we know that right now IS the time for work. It is the time for meriting, for earning. But our day of rest doesn’t come at 65 or whenever we finally retire. It comes in heaven.
We hear in the Gospel about storing up riches in heaven, not on earth. We don’t cash in during this life but in the next. And even if you’re reading this and you’re already retired, that kind of work doesn’t stop. The spiritual work, the work of becoming who God made you to be—that continues until we’re gone.
Once we’re gone, the work is over and time is up.