40/40 Vision: Clarifying Your Mission in Midlife

Last updated on: February 13, 2019 at 5:24 am by Michael F. Bird

40/40 Vision: Clarifying Your Mission in Midlife 2018-10-31T06:35:56-04:00 Michael F. Bird

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Peter Greer and Greg Lafferty

40/40 Vision: Clarifying your mission in midlife
Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2018.
Available at Amazon.com

By Graham Stanton

40/40 Vision is for anyone who has realised that they have fewer years left to live than years they’ve already lived. Midlife. The years when satisfaction with life bottoms out, when (at least in the US according to Greer and Lafferty) suicide rates peak, when the use of anti-depressants peak, when the challenges of pain, death, and loss begin to bite. But alongside, and often the result of these challenges, midlife also throws up the big questions of life: “what is the meaning and measure of my life?”, “what really counts?”, “what future do I envision and how do I get there?” (p.26).

Greer (a recent member of the 40-something club) and Lafferty (a more seasoned veteran of the second half of life) want to bring a dose of biblical wisdom to anyone stuck in the midlife doldrums. They turn to the book of Ecclesiastes for advice in ten different areas of life: In summary, they invite readers to

find contentment in the face of disappointment;
find delight in God over dissatisfaction;
pursue honest intentionality in the face of our mortality;
pursue generosity rather than indulgence,
rest rather than hurry
accept the opportunities of aging
embrace vulnerability to overcome disconnection,
find grace and faith in the face of injustice and uncontrollable tragedy;
have an identity apart from your job; and
trust God with your legacy.

The book is full of encouraging stories and littered with inspirational and challenging quotations. (I do wonder though whether the fact that both authors are male will make the book less accessible or engaging for women. The book is clearly addressed to both men and women, but illustrations about men and quotations from men outnumber those about or from women by at least two to one).

Overall the underlying message is to live with a firm trust in God’s enduring purposes, even in the second half of life. If you’re facing a mid-life crisis, or know someone who is, then you’ll find some useful advice here.

However, at least for this reader, there is more than a whiff of the self-help genre here. It’s not quite 10-steps-to-a-happier-midlife; there is an ongoing appeal to a Christian worldview that grounds the advice that Greer and Lafferty have to offer. But I suspect that many readers may find this to be too much of a Christian version of North American consumer aspiration.

Two uses of Scripture were particularly jarring. Greer and Lafferty take Paul’s instruction in 1 Timothy 6:19 to “take hold of the life that is truly life” and shift our attention from laying up a firm foundation for the coming age, to a present age quest for excitement: “Taking hold of the life that is truly life – isn’t that what we all want in midlife? We want something more thrilling than we’re currently experiencing. We want some of that you-only-go-around-once gusto” (p.95). Jeremiah 29:13 gets an aspirational makeover to say, “when the thrill is gone, pursue it again in God and don’t stop until you find it. He himself promises to be discovered by you” (p.71). I welcome the sentiment, and find a life of thrill and gusto reasonably inviting; but how does this sit against Paul’s ambition from Philippians 3:10, “to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead”?

The pushback against my critique would say that the Christian life doesn’t have to be painful and depressing to be faithful. And I quite agree. I have experienced the biological high and greater happiness that comes from being generous to others; I agree that there can be dire physical consequences of overwork and that a day of rest can lead to greater productivity. These experiences are worth pointing out and may also serve as a pre-evangelistic encouragement for people struggling with midlife to look more closely at Christian faith. But it seems to me that the appeal to self-interest, even when it is set alongside the spiritual benefits of these practices, does little to dislodge the core idols of our culture.

Even though my forties have now slipped past (but hey, 50 is the new 30 right?), the biggest spiritual challenge I face is the reminder that this life is not all about me. For my 50th birthday good friends (who are a little further along in life than I am) gave me Christopher Ash’s little book, Zeal without Burnout: Seven keys to a lifelong ministry of sustainable sacrifice (The good book company, 2016). The central truth is the reminder that we are creatures of dust; that God is God, and we are not. That idea isn’t absent from 40/40 Vision. The introductory chapter includes the encouragement that “opening our eyes to our mortality and limitations can allow us to live more fully” (p.16). But embracing mortality and submitting ourselves to God seemed to me to get a bit lost along the way.

Perhaps 40-40 Vision and Zeal without Burnout could make a useful combination. From Peter Greer and Greg Lafferty I found practical tips and inspiring stories to be intentional about making the second half of my life as productive as I can. From Christopher Ash I was reminded that whatever productivity I accomplish will only come as God’s gracious gift.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

February 10, 2019

Origen on Scripture

Next Post

February 14, 2019 Larry Hurtado Reviews Paula Fredriksen on When Christians Were Jews

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Bible Lands Blogosphere Book Review Calvinism Colleges & Universities Ecclesiology Emerging Adulthood Evangelicalism Foreign Affairs Gospel of John Greco-Roman World Humor Just War N. T. Wright Old Testament Resurrection Terrorism Theological Education Travel Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What famous prayer did Jesus teach His followers?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The Prayer of Jabez The Lord’s Prayer The Shema Psalm 23

Books by This Author Books by Mike Bird

See All Titles »