What Is Your Life? (James 4:13-17)
Today we are going to look at the primary lesson God has taught the world this year. 2020 has certainly been a year for us to grow a little wiser. Let's read together...
James 4:13--17 (ESV) --- 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”--- 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
This text has become real to us this year. How do we feel about our plans for next year? It's funny how things have changed. We should not assume that our plans are going to happen because we make them.
A Message For Planners (4:13-16)
By saying, "Come now," the tone of James' words doesn't sound good. That's like when daddy says, "Get over here. We need to talk." James calls out a particular group of people. These people have made plans for their future. What is the matter with these plans? It's not far fetched for us to say, "After I'm done with the college, I plan to go to such and such a city, spend a year there, do business and make a profit." It is such a small statement, isn't it? We have heard these kinds of plans before from people. We have probably spoken about these kinds of plans before without a second thought. What is the problem, and why does this matter? Isn't this person just being self-confident and trying to get ahead in life? James takes this tone because God has a problem with this. Saying that this is going to happen in this way is making a foundational mistake by deceiving themselves.
1. We don't know tomorrow
You who say, "We will go... arrive... spend a year... trade... and make a profit. Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring." After describing all the things that this person will do, James points out the first significant failure we tend to make in our planning. We don't know how little control we have over our lives. James says we don't know what will happen tomorrow, much less next year! I would argue that we don't even know what's going to happen later today. We could have a phone call during this sermon that will completely change our lives and our plans. How many of us have had plans for this year completely changed? How could we know what will happen next year when we have no clue what will happen this afternoon, much less tomorrow?
No amount of planning will account for every possible scenario. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't plan, but we must recognize our limitations. We do not know what will happen, so why will we act as we do? Why would we speak as though we know what God knows? We do not know anything! Having the self-confidence that ignores what I don't know is wrong.
2. Life Is A Mist (14b)
What is your life? We might have a lot of answers to that question. Does your answer resemble James' answer? He says, "You are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." The second major failure that James points out to us is that we don't see how temporary and weak we are. He uses the illustration of a puff of steam or water vapor. I think about the fans at amusement parks. How many people are sitting under those misting fans in the blazing heat of Orlando right now? That mist is like our lives. We are a little particle of water that hits the fan, and we come bursting on to the scene, thinking that we have solidity and that we can last forever. James says we are not! Like all the water droplets before us and all the water droplets after us, our life on this earth is temporary. We are all just waiting to evaporate. But don't we all think it will last longer than it does. This is a lie we tell ourselves and a fault in our planning process. How many of those who die around us have plans to accomplish so much more but never do?
3. Boasting Is Evil (16)
That sounds depressing. Until this year, things have stayed the same or at least stay predictable in our lives. We tend to get lulled to sleep when nothing changes for a long time. We might even say things like, "That will never happen!" People say it's not good to focus on the "What ifs" in life, but let's explore them for this particular decision. What if I don't make it to wherever I'm going to spend a year and make a profit? What if there is no opportunity to trade there? What if the trading there is terrible and I don't make a profit? We could be driving our car on the way there, and the last thing we ever do is look down at our cell phone. "What ifs" have a low probability and can lead to extreme cases of anxiety, but they help us broaden our perspective on life. If any one of these possibilities does happen, what then? Where will we go when everything falls apart? Will we feel ashamed and do something wrong to make up for our failure? Will we blame God for not making our plans work out in our best interest? Where was God when we made these plans? Look at what James says we should say instead...
James 4:15-16 (ESV) --- 15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
Who Is Our Faith In?
Don't get the wrong impression. Making plans is not wrong. It is wise to make plans and to prepare for our future. But the way we go about making plans is essential. Do we have an abundance of faith in ourselves, or do we have faith in God? Isn't thinking that we will go somewhere, spend a year there, trade, and make a profit selfishly ambitious? It has a foundation of earthly wisdom, not godly wisdom.
There is nothing wrong with going somewhere, living a year or two there, trading, and making a profit. We can move somewhere else or stay right where we are. Whatever the plans are, they can be good plans, but are they arrogant?
How easy is it for us to forget that we are not in control and that our life is temporary? Our self-confident planning can turn into arrogance when we overlook our ignorance and God's sovereignty. We aren't able to add another day to our lives, but God is. We don't know what we will be able to do in the future, but God does. He can make whatever He wants to happen. We may plan our lives with "rose colored glasses," thinking that everything will be great and the best possible scenario will happen, but James says that this is arrogant and evil, not wise.
At the first of this year, we might have thought we would have prosperity and health forever. We might long for that mindset to return, but I hope and pray that we don't return to that way of thinking. Planning while thinking that we know what will happen, "I will live, and I will do this or that! Don't you tell me I won't!" is arrogant, and we forget the one who is truly in control.
This reminds me of a rich man in Luke 12.
Luke 12:16-21
How Should We Plan?
James says that if we think we are sovereign, we have become boastful, arrogant, and evil people. Okay, so if we are going to be humble in our planning, what would that look like? How many of us have overlooked the will and working of God while making our plans? Maybe we aren't doing it on purpose. Everyone around us is making plans without considering God. It just seems like a way of life in our culture. But as Christians, God's will and work are important to us, so we need to consider it before we do anything.
Notice that the text says that we will "live and do this or that if the Lord wills." Do we think of our lives this way? James is describing how Christians ought to make their plans.
First, we have to see our lives as subject to God's will. This might seem like a sad idea, but it's sobering. James says that if the Lord wills, we will live. God controls whether I live or die. At one time, we may have been ignorant of all that God does for us, but now we know He is the one who keeps us alive. Each breath I breathe is from God. Try controlling your breath. Try controlling your heartbeat. God created us with those things on autopilot. He provides the air we breathe and the food we eat. God gives us life continually every day, and he can take it away at any moment. This goes back to life being a vapor.
Second, James also says that we will "do this or that if the Lord wills." Do we struggle to recognize how involved God is in our activities? He is providentially working all the time. I love how the Old Testament shows us that God is always working.
Think about Joseph. Was Joseph planning to be hated by his brothers and sold into slavery? Was he planning to be lied about and thrown into prison? Was he planning to be made second in command over Egypt? He wasn't planning any of that, but God meant it all for good.
Whatever I can do, it is because God has given me the life and ability to do it. There is nothing I can do apart from God's existence. Thinking that I can do anything without the help of God is foolish and arrogant. To say I don't need God to help me move to this place, spend a year there, trade, and make a profit is entirely foolish. Instead, I ought to trust in God to help me through this.
What Do We Seek?
So what should our plans look like for 2021? Will we live and do this or that? God knows, and we do not. But the real question is, "What is our greatest desire for next year?" Let's look at the last verse in this section to help us plan out 2021. It may not seem related, but it is.
James 4:17 (ESV) --- 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
We might think that a good ending to this section would be, "Therefore whoever wants to make plans must include God in his plans." Isn't James saying something very similar? James has called everyone who is making selfish plans to himself and telling them to stop focusing on themselves right now. Maybe they are putting off the good things for God till tomorrow. Have you ever done that? Are you planning to get your life right with God next year? Do it now. We must do what is right now and stop assuming that we will have tomorrow to do it.
Solomon wrote words along these lines...
Proverbs 3:3--8 (ESV) --- 3 Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
Solomon says that finding favor with God is all about having a heart that completely trusts in God instead of self. Are we faithful to God? Do we trust Him? Do we always acknowledge Him and depend on Him or depend on our own understanding?
We must continuously look at God and focus on His purpose for us when considering the path ahead. God wants to be involved in every decision. Are we thinking about God when we think about whether to marry, who to marry, which job to take, which neighborhood to move into, how to spend money, how to dress, how to act toward our spouses, how to act toward our children, or even how to act toward friends and strangers?
Where does God's will rank on any of these decisions? Trusting in the Lord with all of our hearts means that every minor or major decision we make impacts our service to God. But how easy is it for us to fail to consider Him in all of these decisions? God doesn't want to be forgotten any more than our spouse would want to be forgotten in the decision-making process. Can you imagine planning this move and career change but not telling your spouse? Making these kinds of decisions without God begs the question, "Do I really appreciate what God is doing for me and do I trust Him to provide?"
What Do We Learn?
How could we become so wise in our own eyes that we would say, "I will go to a city, spend a year, trade, and make profit?" We are ignorant, frail, and unable to add one day to our life. This level of self-confidence is foolish. God is the only one who already knows what could ever happen in our lives. He wants to be involved, to set us on the straight path, and to use us to glorify His name. We must fight the tendency to remove Him from the process.
1. We must become humble.
Did you notice the question, "What is your life?" Isn't that a penetrating question? At the heart of James' words is the misconception that is rampant in the world today, "My life is mine, and I can do with it as I please! Don't you tell me how to live my life!" We presume too much. This thinking has to be changed. His love for us keeps us alive, not our own goodness. Being wise in our own eyes and relying on our understanding is presuming on His kindness. If we think this way, we have forgotten what our life is about. James just said in 4:6, God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. God loves and gives grace to those who humble themselves and turn to Him with a heart that is transformed to do His will. The last two things we can do show a humility that should be inside of us.
WE DON'T PRAY! We are missing out on a huge opportunity when we leave God out of our plans. We can't see ahead or know what path to take; we can't add a day to our life; we can't control what will happen to our families or us. But God does! He can change the entire course of our lives if we humbly recognize that He is involved and if we depend on Him.
2. We have to put God's will and work ahead of our own.
James says in 4:3 that we ask and do not receive because we ask with wrong motives. When we make our plans with God, we aren't focused on our will so much as we are focused on God's will! God is the one who's work is eternal. All of our labor is merely for nothing but fire. It is temporary and unprofitable in the end. God's will and work are what truly matters, even though we struggle to see the benefits until the end.
Conclusion
What is your life? Do we see it more clearly at the end of this year? As Christians, our life is supposed to be Christ (Col 3:1-4). If we are living for Christ, dying is gain (Phil 1:21). Do we trust God to help us, and are we willing to make our plans while considering His will? When we ask ourselves, "Will I marry? If so who will I marry?" The answer is, "Whoever will help me in my relationship with God." "Will I move to such and such a town?" The answer is, "If it provides a better opportunity to glorify God, I'm all in." Whatever decisions you make must include God, and we must be grateful that He wants to be included. Let's consider our lives as a gift to be used to glorify God?