We work to retire. (The rich fool, Luke 12:13-21)

We work hard to retire (The rich fool, Luke 12:13-21)
A recent study by the AARP says that only 42% of Americans do not feel as if they are prepared enough for retirement despite 87% believing that retirement planning is of high importance. (Article from https://www.plansponsor.com/americans-value-retirement.../) We are all taught at the beginning of our working careers to plan for the future and to begin immediately saving and investing for our retirement so we do not have to caught off guard when we reach that moment in life. 401K’s, stock investments, IRAs, and company retirement plans are all important ways that we can supplement our expected social security income. Essentially, we are programmed to work hard so we can enjoy life later when we retire but is this the mentality that we should have. In this parable, Jesus tells us of a man who just wants to gather up enough so that he can just set back and enjoy life and not have to worry about the day to day grind any more. He is willing to work hard to set himself up for a laid-back life of rest and relaxation, the only problem is that once he hits the magic number and everything is covered, He dies that very night. It is not fair, he worked hard his whole life to set up a peaceful retirement and then he does not get to enjoy it. We see it time and time again in our world around us as so many work their whole lives only to stop working and shortly thereafter they leave this earth. Maybe we have our priorities wrong, maybe we should not be working towards a comfortable retirement, maybe we should instead be working towards a comfortable eternity.
Jesus said that this man had many earthly treasures but was not rich when it came to the things of God. Wouldn’t it be a shame to live your whole life working towards setting yourself up for a life of leisure only to stand before God on the day of judgment to find out that all your labor was in vain, and your eternity has been squandered away. Instead of seeking the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33), you sought to build your own kingdom and now your soul is required of you. We get our priorities so messed up in life because we live our lives like this is it and we only have one life to live, when we should begin to live our lives from an eternal perspective. This life is temporary and short, but our spirits will live for eternity in one of two places, in the presence of God or eternal separated from God in Hell. This is what we should be working towards, where we will spend eternity, not whether we will be able to travel wherever we want when we retire. When our hearts are right with God, we are not concerned with what tomorrow holds instead we are infatuated with what God has instore for us in eternity. We do not want to meet the same fate as the man in the parable, we must get our priorities right and put the things of God’s Kingdom first in all things all day every day.