“Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:13-17)
STOP IT!
This paragraph and the following one both begin with the phrase, “Go to now,” or as we would more likely say today, “Come on now.” It amounts to a reminder to use common sense and reason. It implies that the present practice is unwise or dangerous. What we are really saying when we use this phrase is, “Stop it!”
MORE ABOUT OUR SPEECH
It is addressed to “ye that say.” Here we have another admonition concerning our speech. Is it not amazing to find how many ways this epistle reveals to us that we can get into trouble and displease our Lord because of our speech? In our last chapter we dealt with the warning about the sin of speaking evil one of another or speaking against a brother. Here the concern is with a kind of speaking that amounts to boasting and we will be shown how this too can be sin.
COULD BE ONLY TALK
“You that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain.” This is a classic example of how we often voice our plans, or announce a journey, or reveal a business strategy. Yet while we are talking, the real truth is we do not know what shall be tomorrow.
THE BEST LAID PLANS….
To think realistically in this area, it would only be necessary to visit the cemetery and read the dates on the gravestones. Or walk the corridors of the local hospital and talk to some of the patients and learn how many plans were suddenly changed. Or read the obituary column in the local newspaper, or listen to the police report on local accidents.
No matter how much care and study go into the making of our plans, there is no guarantee those plans will ever be carried out. For after all, “what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
IT IS HOW WE PLAN
Now let us be careful that we understand that it is not the making of plans that we are being warned of. Planning is wise and essential. It is the spirit and attitude with which we plan that will be either good or evil. For us to speak as though we have control of the future, whether in little things or big things, all sounds like proud boasting to the ears of heaven. There are many more little plans that have not come to pass than big ones in the history of man. This teaching is for everyone, not only for those who make big plans.
IF GOD BE WILLING
We ought to say, “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.” Again, we are faced with the need to humble ourselves in the sight of the lord. Our humility, or lack of it, will be expressed in the way we speak about our plans and the future.
The recognition and expression of several things are implied here. We recognize the sovereignty of God, and express our approval of it. We recognize the frailty of our mortal existence and express our dependency on God. These are realities that we ought to recognize and we are taught to say them openly.
IF WE BE PROUD
If we don’t recognize His will in the matter, and continue to make and announce plans as though tomorrow were guaranteed. And if we continue to speak as if we were lord of our own lives and future. We will not be innocent in the eyes of God. To rejoice in our own plans apart from due recognition to our Lord is to rejoice in our own boastings, and “all such rejoicing is evil.” Remember, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Rather than rejoicing in our plans, let us rejoice in the privilege we have of submitting our plans to God for His approval.
THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER
The word therefore, which begins the last verse of our text, indicates that a conclusion of the matter is about to be expressed. “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
This conclusion (which we must remember is a revelation of the mind of God) must be applied to the matter dealt with in this paragraph. To consider our Lord and His will in the making and announcing our plans is to do good. It is good to recognize our human frailty and be aware of the many variables in life over which we have no control. And it is good that our plans be made remembering that they are subject to our Lord’s will and approval. This will not only give glory to God, but will testify to men as well. It is a testimony of love, and honor, and respect to Him who sits upon the throne in heaven and rules in the affairs of men. So we can see it is good.
The word translated good in this verse is a word that speaks of that which is valuable and very important in the sight of our Heavenly Father. So we should say, “if the Lord wills we will do this or that”, because to do so is to testify of our desire to please Him. But not to do so would indicate our independence from Him. And what is sin if it is not living independently from God?