Registered Resurrection Account: Part One
It’s important to save. Saving isn’t easy—especially not in our consumption-driven culture. Debt reduction is usually the most important and difficult step in saving, but it’s essential for financial freedom. Saving allows us to set aside some current income for future enjoyment. This future enjoyment can be short or long, and—believe it or not—can even be unending. In our “Registered Resurrection Account” series we’ll introduce a super-long-term, permanent savings account. Capital accumulation at its very best!
Most people save for their retirement, and retirement planning is a big business. Governments promote retirement savings to reduce pressure from seniors on the public purse. In Canada we have the RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) and TFSA (Tax Free Savings Account). In the States, Americans use their 401k or a Roth IRA. But is standard retirement planning the best way to save for the future? I don’t think so.
Don't misunderstand; I’m not saying that regular retirement savings is wrong, just that there’s something better in addition to traditional retirement saving—something longer-lasting and not tied to financial markets or taxation system. I recommend that it precede—not replace—retirement saving. It's better, but it’s not new, just forgotten.
Jesus Christ spoke of it many years ago. He recommended a savings account with an ultra, long-term perspective: A million years and beyond! It’s enduring, super safe, and tax proof. I like to call it the Registered Resurrection Account (RRA). Jesus said,
When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends, or your brothers, or your relatives, or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. [emphasis added] Luke 14:12-14.
Amazing! But what if you don’t believe in a resurrection? What if there is nothing beyond the grave? What if this life is all there is? Well, then Jesus Christ was terribly mistaken. Was He wrong? I doubt it. I’m biased, but I defer to His wisdom—especially on matters concerning life and death. He said, “An hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His [God’s] voice and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment,” John 5:28-29. When Jesus says all, He means ALL. Everyone will come out of their graves, whether they believe or not. The Law of Gravity doesn’t require faith to operate when it makes things fall. Faith or its absence never established a law.
(All Bible citations are from the New American Standard Bible - NASB translation unless otherwise indicated.)