A “Mattering-Span” That Lasts
Last week, I came across an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal by Jennifer Breheny Wallace on the concept of “mattering”—the essential human need to feel valued and to contribute meaningfully to the world. Wallace’s contention is that as we approach retirement, this need becomes especially important, shaping how we view ourselves and our purpose in the next chapter of life.
While millions of workers plan for their health and financial “security” as they approach retirement, very few prepare for their “mattering-span”: how they will continue to feel seen, useful, and capable of making a difference in the next chapter of life.
So serious is this lack of mattering-prep, Wallace writes, that severe depression—along with the inevitable wearing down of the body—poses a serious social and medical challenge, as more than 11,OOO Americans turn 65 every day, with one in five Americans becoming retirees by 2O3O.
As Wallace makes clear in her article—and I’m assuming makes even clearer in her just-released book Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose—the end of work is more than lost income. It’s a loss of identity. Self-worth. Leaving an increasing number of retirees wrestling with a life question usually reserved for the young: namely, Who Am I?
"I guess I'm only a footnote"
I recall recent conversations with two dear spiritual mentors of mine both in their 80s. One, a retired pastor who had chaired countless ministry boards over five decades. Over lunch, he confided that, “Many in those ministries don’t even remember who I am. Or was. I guess I’m only a footnote.” I tried to reassure him, but I left wondering how I’d be remembered. If at all.
Another friend, a theologian whose brilliant mind and infectious love for God touched the lives of pastors and students from the halls of Harvard to small Christian campuses across American’s heartland, lamented that his voice was no longer heard nor sought after as the days have gone by.
“Harold, you and I are dispensable. Obsolete.”
I know full well that neither of my mentor-brothers truly thought their lives were wasted or their influence lost. Even in retirement, they knew that their teaching had influenced many who were now impacting the world for Christ.
I’m also guessing—hoping—that in both cases, I simply caught them in a more contemplative, perhaps sullen mood, reflecting on missed past relationships, activities, and experiences.
Still, recalling these conversations and now reading the Journal piece, it struck me that Wallace’s mattering message offers a needed reminder and word of caution for employee and retiree alike. Especially for those of us who claim to have died to self and raised to new life in Christ.
A Life of Service
The reminder for us is that God’s gift of work [a gift that will keep on giving in the New Heaven and New Earth] is but one expression of our whole-life service to him. It’s part of our reasonable service, our Romans 12:1 act of spiritual worship. “Whatever you do,” wrote the apostle Paul to the church at Colossae, “work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”
Consequently, this portion of our reasonable service and the identity it provides us as children of God—his workmanship, created to do good works on his behalf—doesn’t end with the last paycheck. It continues for as long as we have life. Forever.
The caution here is for you and me to be careful not to redirect this worship onto ourselves. Work is our vocation—an outgrowth of our calling to serve God and neighbor. It is not our validation as men and women of worth. The rhythms, successes, and all-consuming nature of our work can easily become idolatrous. Indeed, if work offered to God becomes worship, then work offered to the self is idolatry. As such, rather than an opportunity for service, work becomes more and more an outlet for self-expression. The me becomes dominant. If left unchecked, this increasing inward focus invariably leaves a person’s identity at the mercy of the god of work. Come retirement, that god’s weakness quickly becomes self-evident as you enter a season of “mattering loss.”
As obvious as all this should be, I know my own heart and pride. Therefore, the older I get, the more convinced I become that we must consistently discipline ourselves not to drink too deeply of the accolades and successes of the workplace, but see our work as part of a continuum of service to God and neighbor. One of many vocations that might include spouse, parent, church member, and so on. With this mindset, retirement becomes just another upward and outward-focused step along a life-long service continuum.
This perspective puts work in its proper context and anchors our sense of mattering. Here I think of my father. Each day at Ford’s Dearborn Assembly Plant, he prayed that his work would be pleasing to God and that Christ would be seen through him. This Christ-centered service continued at home, in church, and in our neighborhood.
When he retired, he didn’t skip a beat. Retirement wasn’t a loss of identity or an excuse for self-indulgence, but simply another season of service. Starting Bible studies at Jackson [MI] State Prison, teaching English at a local mosque (I’m still amazed at that one), and traveling around Wayne County, MI, stopping at churches and asking if he could pray for the pastor.
As Dad so powerfully demonstrated to this watching son, there need be nothing lacking in our “reasonable service” if the cadence of our work carries the momentum of the Spirit.
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As Americans live longer, sustaining a sense of mattering becomes a defining challenge of aging. But for those who call Christ Lord, God has already crafted a “mattering-span.” We serve in countless ways and settings, promoting justice, peace, mercy, reconciliation, and human flourishing. It’s all part of serving the King.
This secures our identity, gives us purpose, and our lives meaning. Truly a mattering-span that lasts!
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