JAMES 4:11-17
PROPER PLANNING
[Luke 12:16-21]
It is too easy for Christians to make plans and set goals, expecting God to fall in line behind them. It is easy to plan our lives as if we controlled the future and had unlimited authority over the factors that affect our life. And so, in reality we do plan our lives as if God does not exist.
This section warns against self-centered planning. Worldly living is not displayed only by a disbelief in God, sometimes it’s apparent in the disregarding of God as we plan our life and our daily activities. We so want things our way that we harshly criticize and strike out at any one or thing that seems to be standing in our way. This leads to a life of self-will instead of God’s will. Life should be lived in seeking and submitting to God’s will (CIT).
I. TODAY’S PREJUDICES, 11-12.
II. TOMORROW’S PLANS, 13-14.
III. TOMORROW’S PERILS, 15-17.
If we don’t humble ourselves and repent toward God as verses 7-10 command, we grow in stubborn pride which is revealed in the denouncing of others. So verse 11 prohibits belittling and insulting language. Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.
Is not judging and criticizing others always easier than to judge oneself and repent? The unrepentant Christians James addressed, calling them brethren, spent far too much time criticizing others than critiquing themselves. To speak against (evil to) one another reflects fault finding, harsh criticism and attacking behind backs that too often has characterized some Christian people. Slander is critical speech intended to inflame others against the person being criticized. For Christians to malign other believers is a living contradiction of the close family ties which should bind us together. Peter taught Christians that when the truth about a brother is harmful, one should cover it in love rather than repeat it in criticism (I Peter 4:8).
James gave two compelling reasons to refrain from harshness toward other believers. First, to disparage a brother finds fault with God’s law. The royal law insists that believers love one another (2:8). To slander a brother is to attack the king of all laws which insists that we are to love our brother as we love ourselves. This person says they know more than God and places his judgment above the law, judging it instead of following it.
In one of the CHARLIE BROWN’S cartoons depicted little Linus with his security blanket in place and his thumb resting safely in his mouth, but he was troubled. Turning to Lucy, who was sitting next to him, he asked, "Why are you always so anxious to criticize me?"
Her response was typical: "I just think I have a knack for seeing other people’s faults."
Exasperated, Linus threw his hands up and asked, "What about your own faults?" Without hesitation, Lucy explained, "I have a knack for overlooking them."
Some people think it is their God-ordained responsibility to dish out criticism. They see it as their knack. Some even consider it their spiritual gift. But these people are often blind to their own weaknesses. Because it is easy to commit, slander is widespread, almost inescapable. As Hamlet warned Ophelia, "Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny [slander]" (Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 3, scene 1).
The words of James offers a solution to this critical spirit. Verses 7 and 8 encourage us to recognize our faults and humbly submit to God. We must draw near to God, cleanse our hands, and purify our hearts (vs.8). This will help us take a realistic view of ourselves so that we will not "speak evil of one another" (vs.11).
When we follow the pattern that James prescribed, we will learn to recognize and confess our sins, rather than develop the knack of seeing the faults of others and overlooking our own. The more we correct ourselves the less we’ll criticize others.
The second argument for refraining fault finding speech is given in verse 12. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?
Only God has the sovereign right to make His laws and carry out His judgments. He allows no human being to share this role. A slanderous judging Christian attempts to usurp God’s place. God is the only one who knows the heart, perfectly understands the situation, and stands equipped to correctly decide. How can finite, sinful individuals attempt to play the role of God.
As Christians we can easily conclude that we are free to show critical attitudes. The Bible warns us to leave this judgment with God. Examine your attitude and actions toward others (Mt. 7:1-5). Do you build people up or tear them down? When you’re ready to criticize someone, remember God’s law of love and say something good instead. Saying something beneficial to others will cure you of finding fault and increase your ability to obey God’s law of love.
While riding in a car, I passed a sign that warned: $100 FINE FOR THROWING LITTER ON HIGHWAY. Soon I saw another sign that stated: LITTER BARREL - 1 MILE! A short time later, I passed a garbage truck on its way to the disposal plant.
There are three things you can do with garbage: You can collect it, scatter it, or dispose of it. Some people are garbage collectors; they are always listening for some choice bit of gossip. If they were only collectors, it would not be so serious. But these collectors are often litterbugs, and insist on scattering it all along life’s highway. Thank God, there are also those who know how to dispose of it. They, put the refuse where it belongs -in the "litter barrel" of forgetfulness.
James 4:11 tells us, "Do not speak evil of one another." If you can’t say something helpful, don’t say anything. If you hear a damaging rumor, immediately put it in the "litter bag." Then breathe a prayer for the person being talked about, as well as for the one who told you. Don’t spread gossip, but dispose of it by silence. Gossip soon dies if it is not repeated.
Today you will find plenty of garbage. You can collect it, scatter it; or dispose of it. Ask God to help you do what pleases Him and is helpful to others. [M. R. De Haan, MD]. Speak words of comfort, Words of praise, and words of cheer. Do your part to silence gossip. Don’t repeat it.
II. TOMORROW’S PLANS, 13-14.
In a fascinating paragraph built around the seemingly mundane illustration of businessmen’s plans, James gives significant insights into how people respond to God’s will. He presents three negative responses and one positive one. The first negative response to God’s will in verse 13 is foolishly ignoring it, living as if God did not exist or was indifferent to and impotent toward human behavior. "Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit."
These businessmen were planning out their lives, their travel, length of stay and profit without any reference to the will of God. Trading was the surest method to make money. The Diaspora gave Jewish merchants and bankers connections all over the world and made them aware of any new openings for trade. These business men were strong believers in the existence of God, but lived as if He did not exist. They did not consider His will for their daily decisions. They lived as if their lives were in their own hands and consequently make their plans without any thought of God (Prov. 27:1). But what people plan and what happens often contrast strikingly.
In 1923, an important planning meeting took place at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. "Attending this meeting were nine of the world’s most SUCCESSFUL FINANCIERS. Those present were: the president of the largest utility company; the president of the largest gas company; the greatest wheat speculator; the president of the New York Stock Exchange; a member of the President’s cabinet; the greatest ‘bear’ on Wall Street; head of the world’s greatest monopoly; president of the Bank of International Settlements."
An investigator determined the destiny of the nine men twenty five years later. The president of the steel company lived on borrowed money the last five years of his life and died bankrupt. "The president of the greatest utility company ...died a fugitive from justice and penniless in a foreign land. The president of the largest gas company...was insane. The greatest wheat speculator...died abroad, insolvent. The president of the New York Stock Exchange.. was... released from Sing Sing Penitentiary. The member of the President’s cabinet...was pardoned from prison so he could die at home. The greatest ‘bear’ on Wall Street....died a suicide. The head of the greatest monopoly...died a suicide. The president of the Bank of International Settlements...died a suicide." Even though they planned the future for personal gain, the future they planned did not happen. See Luke 12:16-21.
Verse 14 gives two important reasons those who presumptuously leave God out of their planning are foolish. First, James explains to those who make plans for the future cannot be certain about tomorrow. "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. [You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.]"
The first consideration about daily life we often ignore is that we have no sure knowledge of the future. We do not know whether tomorrow will produce a catastrophe or a visitation of God’s grace. Even though we do not know the future, we so often act as if we are secure. We think we can control life and make it work out like we want.
Life on this sin-warped earth is unpredictable and the Bible reminded us that we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. If disaster comes–an accident, a tornado, an illness–will we surrender to despair? Or even while grieving our losses, will we remain confident of God’s wisdom, love, and power, and move on with hope into tomorrow?
Inventive genius THOMAS EDISON lost his great New Jersey laboratories in an inferno-like fire on a December night in 1914. Yet the very next morning, walking among the still smoldering rubble of those buildings that had housed so many of his projects, Edison, then 67, said, "there is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God, we can start anew."
No matter what hopes and dreams and relationships have been destroyed in our lives, with God’s help let’s prayerfully follow an example far more inspiring than Edison’s. Let’s resolutely determine, as Paul did, that we will forget the things that lie behind and press forward in our pilgrimage and service (Phil. 3:`13-14). Sometimes our Lord must liberate us from the past, even by painful loss, in order to lead us into a more fruitful future. For great trials often precede great triumphs.
Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, But all through the blood,
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song.
In the night season and all the day long.
The second part of verse 14 is that we do not understand the nature of human life which is like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Life is not only uncertain it is also brief. We forget that we may be here for a moment and then gone. By failing to accept this fact, we demonstrate arrogant self-sufficiency for a mire vapor.
When we were young and we looked ahead, life seemed so long. It was hard to imagine that what older folks often said was true– the time has passed by so quickly that they wonder where it has gone. But as we grow older, the years of our present existence seem short, especially when compared with eternity.
In her book It Only Hurts When I Laugh, Ethel Barrett related a story about a high school teacher in Los Angeles who had a unique way of stimulating her students to think. From time to time she would write brief messages on the chalkboard that were completely unrelated to the studies in which the students were involved. One morning, when the students entered the room, they found the number 25,550 written on the board. One pupil finally raised his hand and asked the instructor why that particular number was there. She explained that 25,550 represented the number of days in the life of a person who lives to be 70 years of age. The teacher wanted to impress her pupils with life’s brevity. Reduced to a number of days rather than years, the span of our life on earth didn’t sound nearly as long to them.
This underscores what James said about life: "It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." Therefore, it’s important that we make the most of our opportunities to honor God, serve others, and proclaim Christ. Our time on earth is brief. Don’t just spend time; invest it.
Many of us have busy schedules. It is easy to plan those schedules without considering the will of God. Many of us have visionary goals for our business, our job, our church, or our family. God wants us to work diligently in all of those areas, but we must consider His will first as we plan our goals.
It is good to have goals, but goals will disappoint us if we leave God out of them. There is no point in making plans as though God does not exist, because the future is in His hands. What would you like to be doing ten years from now? One year from now? Tomorrow? How will you react if God steps in and rearranges you plans? Plan ahead, but hold you plans loosely. Put God’s desires at the center of your planning; He will never disappoint you.
Magazine publisher J.I. Rodaly, a zealous advocate of health foods, claimed at the age of 72 he would LIVE TO BE 100. The same week that his prediction appeared in The New York Times, he was being interviewed for a television program, again claiming that his bones were as strong as ever. Moments after making his boast, he died of a heart attack.
Dr. Stuart Berger, a nutritionist, claimed that he had the formula for living past the century mark. Although he had supposedly found the secret of youthfulness and had convinced many to follow his advice, he died in his sleep at the age of 40[, grossly overweight.]
Then there was author Jim Fixx, who advocated running to prevent coronary trouble. Yet ate the age of 52 he died of a heart attack–yes, ironically, while running.
Common sense dictates that we ought to take every possible measure to keep ourselves healthy. But in the final analysis, each of us must pray, "I trust in You, O Lord...my times are in Your hand" (Ps. 31:14-15). Teach us to number our days O Lord (Ps. ).
Because any day, even today, may be our final day on earth, we need to be sure that we are ready to depart. Are you?
Life is short no matter how many years we live. Don’t be deceived into thinking that you have lots of time remaining to live for Christ, to enjoy your loved ones, or to do what you know you should. Live for God today! Then, no matter when your life ends, you will have fulfilled God’s plan for you. If we are prepared to die, we are prepared to live.
Life’s one certainty is its sheer uncertainty. As Scripture reminds us, we "do not know what will happen tomorrow" (James 4:14). REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER Larry Silverstein can bear witness to the truth of that text. Though he owned impressive property in New York City, he was, according to his own testimony, obsessed by the desire to add the great Twin Towers of the World Trade Center to his holdings. His wish came true. Six weeks before those two imposing skyscrapers
were destroyed by terrorists, he had obtained a 99-year lease worth $3.2 billion for that majestic center.
Sadly, the fulfillment of our dreams can sometimes turn into nightmares. This reminds us not only of the uncertainty of life, but also of the need to align our desires with God’s will. Experience teaches us that if we allow presumption to run our lives, the fulfillment of our own compulsive dreams may turn to dust and ashes.
There are legitimate desires to be sure, but James tells us how to approach them. Instead of presuming that our plans and dreams will be fulfilled, we ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that" (4:15).
Write your plans in pencil, then give God the eraser. When we submit our plans to God’s will, we can enjoy His peace in the midst of life’s uncertainties. Vernon Grounds
II. PROPER PERSPECTIVE OF TOMORROW, 15-17.
Another reason that leaving God out of one’s planning is foolish found in verse 15 is because of the brevity of life. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."
Here we have the proper attitude. The proper attitude is submission to the will of the Lord. We are to seek and obey the Will of God in all our plans. Doing the Will of God demands an active listening and sensitivity to God’s Word for God’s goals and plans. We must plan for the future, but we must plan with a deliberate seeking of the Will of God. We do not ask God to submit His plans for our approval but we obey His will unconditionally.
In so many areas of life God has already revealed His sovereign will, but we are not ready to follow it just yet. Too many are saying "Tomorrow, we shall be saved"; "Tomorrow, we shall begin to pray"; "Tomorrow, we shall be faithful to Christ"; or, "Tomorrow, we shall do what is right." But tomorrow never comes.
Tomorrow, Raphael would finish his picture. But the picture, half finished, was carried in his funeral procession.
Tomorrow, Charles Dickens would finish his novel. So laying down his pen, he turned his attention elsewhere, and many have wondered how the novel would have ended had the angel of death delayed by a day.
Tomorrow, Franz Schubert would finish his symphony. But Schubert’s tomorrow never came, and he left undone his Unfinished Symphony.
"Tomorrow, we shall,..." Wrote Sir Walter Scott in his diary. But this last-written sentence of one of Scotland’s greatest writers was never completed. And lovers of literature still wonder what Scott intended to do on the morrow.
Each of these is a striking reminder that tomorrow is a most uncertain, unpredictable friend. Of things uncertain and undependable, none is more uncertain or more undependable than tomorrow. For this reason men should be humble before God and seek His will in all their future planning.
Acknowledging God’s will affirms His sovereignty over all aspects of life. We live only because God so wills it, for He controls life and death (Deut. 32:39; Job 12:9–10; Ps. 39:4–5; Heb. 9:27; Rev. 1:18). God also controls everything people do and all the circumstances of life.
For the Christian, doing God’s will is an act of worship (Rom. 12:1–2). It is to be done from the heart (Eph. 6:6), as a way of life (Col. 1:9–10; 4:12), recognizing that He must energize us to do it (Heb. 13:20–21). In John 13:17 the Lord Jesus Christ pronounced the reward given those who do God’s will: "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them."
Responding to God’s will is yet another test of a living and true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. A strong desire to do the will of God is a sure mark of a transformed life. [MacArthur. James, ]
James expressed a worldview of flexibility. While it is wise to plan for the future, we must do so with the recognition that God’s purposes might be different from ours. Instead of rigidly saying, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city" (v.13), James counseled us to bend to God’s direction in our lives. He said, "Instead you ought to say, ’If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that’" (v. 15).
The adventure of following Christ is one that rests in His perfect plans-and flexibility helps us to be prepared for wherever His purposes might take us.
It is wrong to presumptuously ignore God’s will by living as though God and His will do not exist. Verse 16 addresses those who, while acknowledging that God exists and has a will, nevertheless arrogantly reject God’s will. But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.
Nothing breeds arrogance like humanistic presumptions of continued health, prosperity and life. These words rebuke our proud boastful independent spirit and call us to humble dependence on God.
Brag describes the arrogant assumption that they could handle the future as they wanted to, independent of God. Our boasting is to be in the Lord, in the blessings He gives and in the experiences which cause us to know Him better. Paul boasted of his weaknesses that allowed the power of Christ to rest on him (2 Cor. 12:9). And he gloried in the cross, the only place of acceptance and salvation of man (Gal. 6:14).
Another approach to God’s will is affirm God’s existence and acknowledge the supremacy of His will—then proceed to disobey it. Verse 17, Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.
The general principle expressed here is that when one is fully aware of his responsibility and fails to do it, this failure is sin. You know God exists, that God is ultimately in control, but you live you life as if you are. It is not enough to know to do right, one must do what he knows he ought to do. The sin of omission is to refuse to make the right response to God. These sins of omission displease God as much as blatant acts against His will. What one omits to do is as serious as what one does.
CONCLUSION
God wants us to avoid acts of disobedience to His Will. He also wants us to do His revealed Will (Mt. 25: 14-30). As Christians we must plan our lives in full commitment to the will and plans of God. We must not avoid such important practices as Bible reading, helping the needy, and sharing our faith. God wants His people to live with a conscious commitment to follow His will.
Planning is essential to a successful business, but even a good plan can go bad. Executives at the Dupont Corporation learned that lesson the hard way with a product called Corfam.
Corfam was a leather substitute that DuPont believed would capture big profits in the shoe industry. After sinking millions into a product development and marketing, however, they became aware that the public was not ready to buy this leather substitute. To avoid further losses and to recover some of its investment, DuPont sold Corfam to another company. But shortly after unloading Corfam, rising prices in leather made it a hot item.
James reminded us that life’s unpredictability is one reason not to put too much stock in our plans. Instead, he pointed to a course of action that follows God’s master plan, not business trends. James said we must submit our goals to God , value people more than money, and patiently wait for spiritual investments to be rewarded.
What are you planning to do today? Tomorrow? Where does God fit into your plans? What can you do that will have eternal impact? The best plans begin and end with God.
