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Would Jesus have a 401k?
Zach Nelson
March 26, 2024
Would Jesus have a 401k?
Read time: 6 ½ minutes
Jesus.
God’s only son, wise teacher, savior of the world, conqueror over death, and perfectly holy.
This was a guy who never missed church, always paid his taxes, woke up at 6am to pray, and for sure maxed out his 401k.
Wait a minute… maxed out his 401k?
I mean, yeah we just said Jesus was perfectly holy, and maxing out your 401k seems like the right thing to do, but are we so sure Jesus was the 401k type?
On earth he wandered around homeless, relying on the kindness of strangers to survive, and dropping bombs like this wherever he went:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
I don’t know about you, but I’d have to squint pretty hard to make that say “Make sure you contribute at least 15% of your income to your 401k”.
Why then do most Christian financial advisors tell people to save up for retirement?
Are we all blatantly sinning? Conveniently ignoring Jesus’ commands?
“La la la! Sorry, I can’t hear you Jesus! It’s too loud from the sound of all my stocks going up!”
Or is Jesus actually a big fan of 401ks and wise, savings-minded Christians?
Today we’re going to dive into scripture to settle this question.
Let’s explore how Christians should think about, and save for, retirement.
In today’s issue:
The case for saving
The case for giving it all away
Jesus’ 401k
Proverbs says - SAVE!
“Okay”, you’re thinking, “surely the Bible tells us to save somewhere. I can’t imagine God says to us, ‘Eh, just wing it. You’ll be fine.’”
And you’d be right!
The Bible often talks about what a good idea saving is, and nowhere as often as in the book of wisdom, Proverbs.
There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man swallows it up.
Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;
Boom. Can’t get more clear than that.
Running around without savings?
Foolish.
Putting money and food aside for the future?
Wise.
Hopefully, you will save up for many things throughout your life.
Short-term savings like an emergency fund can cut financial stress down by 90%.
That sounds pretty wise.
Medium-term savings are powerful, like for a house downpayment or to pay cash for a car. Avoiding taking on debt like a car payment can save you tens of thousands of dollars over your lifetime.
Seems wise to me!
And in modern times with modern life-spans, most of us will live longer than we have the strength to work.
Even if you WANTED to work until you died, odds are, you won’t be able to.
That makes it wise to have long-term savings for retirement.
Even though the idea of a retirement account hadn’t been invented when Proverbs was written, we can feel pretty confident the author would agree with that.
Jesus says - Give it away!
“Wait just one rootin’ tootin’ second,” you say. “I didn’t forget about that first passage. Jesus said to NOT build up treasure on Earth.”
First off, that’s a real old-timey cowboy saying you used there. Interesting choice.
Secondly, you’re right! All over the New Testament Jesus is telling us to give away wealth, not store it.
In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Give up everything.
Jesus is ruthless with our money, demanding that we lay it all aside if we truly want to follow him.
Brutal.
But the reason for this is very simple - as humans, our hearts are revealed by our usage and handling of money.
Tell me what you think about money, and I will tell you what you think about God, for these two are closely related. A man’s heart is closer to his wallet than anything else.
Jesus knows that until we surrender our money to him - all of it - we will never fully surrender ourselves to him either.
We can’t “toe the line”, giving just enough to be better than most, while still keeping some back for ourselves.
That mindset will pollute our souls, and we’ll always be fighting against Jesus to keep lordship over a portion of our lives.
To be all in with God, we have to be all in with our wallets too.
Jesus says let it go. Hand it over. Trust me.*
*more context at the end
A Heavenly 401k
So what now?
We seem to have a standoff between the Old Testament, instructing us to save, and Jesus in the New Testament, telling us to give it all away.
Is the Bible contradicting itself?
I actually think it’s a lot deeper than that.
I think Jesus is taking the Old Testament charge to save, and going further with it than ever before.
See, there’s a fatal flaw with your 401k.
You don’t get to keep it when you die.
You can pump that sucker up as big as you like right now, but someday soon, it’s going to be left behind and given to someone else.
And there’s nothing you can do about it.
But Jesus is the ultimate long-term saver.
Jesus tells us there’s a 401k in heaven.
Remember the second part of our passage? “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven”.
The money you give away for his sake now doesn’t just disappear, it gets deposited into your eternal retirement account.
Jesus is telling us to not just save for our earthly lives, but to be concerned about our eternal ones.
What good is $10 million for 20 years if you’re bankrupt for 20 million years?
And the only way to have these treasures in heaven is to give money away here on Earth.
You can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead.
For most of us, there will come a day where our bodies will begin to fade due to old age, and the ability to work and provide an income will no longer be there.
The Bible clearly teaches us to prepare for those days and save for them.
But Jesus is reminding us, “Hey, don’t miss the point. This Earth is not your home. Don’t set your heart on Monopoly money that is worthless as soon as the game ends. Set your heart on eternity.”
It is really tempting to build up massive piles of retirement savings.
This is the wisdom the rest of the world around us is following.
Pursue your “Golden Years”.
Multi-million dollar retirement accounts. Nothing but travel, golf, and relaxation.
The reward for a life well lived and finances wisely managed.
It looks fun!
And also, if not balanced with a heart of generosity and a longing for eternity, meaningless.
Retirement savings are a tool while we’re on Earth, we need them.
But they don’t make you rich.
True riches come to those who have given the most over to the Lord (see Luke 21:1-4 for context).
Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.
At the end of your life, all your savings will pass right through your fingers as you step into eternity.
And in heaven, you’ll unwrap the savings you built up for yourself by giving it away on Earth.
Turns out, Jesus really likes 401ks. His are just a bit longer-lasting.
If you want to explore this deeper, here are a few questions to ask yourself to get started:
What kind of retirement do I feel God wants me to have?
Would I be comfortable sharing my savings and retirement plans in a sit-down conversation with Jesus?
How can I maximize my eternal retirement accounts by giving more away now?
How much do I really need to be content?
Keep growing,
*Importantly, here’s what Jesus is NOT saying.
He’s not saying to clear out your bank accounts, quit your job, give away all your stuff, and go spend the rest of your life praying in the forest.
Jesus knows that it costs money to survive in this world.
He, in fact, relied on several members of his followers who still had money to fund his ministry. (Luke 8:1-3)
Jesus isn't telling you to get rid of all your stuff while he secretly relies on those who haven't to pay his bills.
He’s asking for the immediate surrender of control of your money.
Sure, you may have a job with a nice income, but you are not the owner of that income, God is. You’re the manager of it.
Awesome! You have a beautiful house. But no matter what the deed says, you’re a renter.
That’s God’s house, not yours.
Until you give up the control of everything you have, you can’t follow Jesus. Not truly.
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