FIRE and the Bigger Barns Blunder

I simply haven’t met any retirees or people on their deathbed who have said “I just wish I had spent more time at the office during my life.” Maybe those people are out there but typical regrets are things like missed sports games, missed family dinners, missed bedtime hugs, or that trip you wanted to take with your kids but never did.

As you get older, you realize your time is finite and you want to spend it in ways that really matter. Oh, if we only lived this way when we were young! The truth is, we often live like we have all the time in the world when we may not.

I think this is one of the biggest dangers of the FIRE lifestyle. If you’re not familiar with it this stands for “financial independence/retire early”. The FIRE movement comes in different flavors, but some key tenants are maximizing your income, often through second jobs or side-hustles, and saving or investing a large portion of your income with the goal of retiring or becoming “work optional” as early as possible.

Now, let me say that working hard, managing expenses, and saving as much as you can are great financial habits. No disagreement there! The danger though is this idea that tomorrow is guaranteed, and I have plenty of time ahead. It’s the danger of thinking that it’s ok to work and save like a maniac for a decade if it means I can retire at 40 and then really start living.

The problem is we just don’t know how many days we have.

In Luke 12:16-21 Jesus says,

¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

¹⁸ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. ¹⁹ And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

²¹ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

In this parable, the rich man worked hard, was successful and built bigger barns to capitalize on his success. He planned to reap the rewards with an easy life. But then he died!

This parable certainly has much to say about the idol of wealth and the uncertainty of our lives.

My hope for the FIRE enthusiasts is that they realize that they don’t know what the future holds. They may be missing out on some of the best days of their life right now. Days that can be filled with purpose and used to honor the Lord.

If you knew that you had only a year left to live, wouldn’t you rather spend as much time as you could with your family, teaching and disciplining your kids, loving your spouse, and making a lasting impact on those around you?

You are not guaranteed tomorrow so we need to make the most of each day for the Lord!

So yes, plan for retirement, work hard, save for the future, these are wise and biblical actions. But don’t miss out on the gift of today!