“Life is short; eternity is long. It is only reasonable that this short life be lived in light of eternity.” - Charles Spurgeon
James refers to the two extremes of human existence and illustrates why thinking in terms of eternity is beneficial for the Christian.
1. It will keep us from despair - v. 9
Thinking in terms of eternity will keep me from despair when I’m in a “have not” situation. Christians aren’t immune to difficult times. But when we face times of “having not,” we need not despair. Why?
A. We are comforted by God’s presence.
“Not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from God’s notice (Matthew 10:29), and neither does one of your tears. When Hagar lifted up her voice in the wilderness of Beersheba, God drew near (Genesis 21:17). When Hannah wept bitterly outside the temple of the Lord, God noticed and remembered (1 Samuel 1:10, 17). When David became weary with moaning, God didn’t become weary with listening (Psalm 6:6–9). The God of all comfort keeps watch over your weeping. He gathers up all your tears and puts them in his bottle (Psalm 56:8). Like a mother sitting beside her child’s sickbed, God marks every sigh of discomfort and pain. No matter how much of your anguish has gone unnoticed by others, not one moment has escaped the attention of the God who neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4). As God says to King Hezekiah, so he could say to each of his children, “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears” (2 Kings 20:5).” - Scott Hubbard, Desiring God Article
B. We are comforted by God’s purpose.
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son . . .” - Romans 8:28-29a (NLT)
The sinfulness of this world or the sinful choices made by others or made by ourselves are why we face “have not” circumstances. And though they can’t be described as “good” God uses them to bring about His greatest good to us. He deals with us and teaches us and changes us to become more like His dear Son. As we focus on His love for us and surrender to His purpose to make us more like Jesus, we can experience that purpose being brought about in us through lessons we learn.
C. We are comforted by God’s plan.
“God always has the plan in place before the problem arises.”
Even before the problem of man’s sin and mankind’s fall, Christ was: “. . . the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.” - Revelation 13:8b (NLT)
So when we find ourselves in a “have not” situation in life, remember, God always has a plan. It isn’t for us to come up with a plan and ask His approval; but for us to look to God for His plan and then obey.
So whenever we find ourselves being a “have not,” let’s lean on God’s presence, live for His purpose, and look for His plan; remembering that God says we occupy a high position before Him, which we’ll one day fully realize when eternity is ushered in. This is why Paul said:
“(We do not) grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” - 1 Thessalonians 4:13b (NIV)
2. It will keep us from pride - vs. 10-11
Not only does thinking in terms of eternity keep us from despair, in “have not” situations, but when we find ourselves being one of the “haves,” thinking in terms of eternity will keep us from pride.
A young lady once told humorist Will Rogers that she needed his advice. She said she was having a big problem with pride, because every time she looked in a mirror, she thought she looked beautiful. Rogers replied, “Lady, that’s not pride, that’s a mistake!”
One of the biggest mistakes we can make is to be prideful in a “have” situation, thinking we deserve the credit and giving God none.
“No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves. It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.” - Psalm 75:6-7 (NIV)
Rather than being proud when we’re in a “have” situation, we should be humbled that God has entrusted us with so much and recognize the great responsibility that is ours to give Him glory for all we enjoy.
“Whoever brags should brag about what the Lord has done.” - 2 Corinthians 10:17 (GW)
Jonathan Edwards identified 7 symptoms of a prideful heart.
1) Fault-Finding - While pride causes us to filter out the evil we see in ourselves, it also causes us to filter out God’s goodness in others. We sift them, letting only their faults fall into our perception of them.
“The spiritually proud person shows it in his finding fault with other saints. The eminently humble Christian has so much to do at home and sees so much evil in his own that he is not apt to be very busy with other hearts.” - Jonathan Edwards
2) A Harsh Spirit - Those who are prideful speak of others’ sins with contempt, irritation, frustration or judgment.
“Christians who are but fellow-worms ought at least to treat one another with as much humility and gentleness as Christ treats them.” - Jonathan Edwards
3) Superficiality - When pride lives in our hearts, we’re far more concerned with others’ perceptions of us than the reality of our hearts. We fight the sins that have an impact on how others view us, and make peace with the ones that no one sees.
4) Defensiveness - The prideful person is defensive because they cannot accept that they have any fault or flaw. A humble person, however, is not knocked off balance and thrown into a defensive posture by challenge or rebuke, but receives what is valid, rejects what is false and seeks to grow more like Christ.
“For the humble Christian, the more the world is against him, the more silent and still he will be, unless it is in his prayer closet, and there he will not be still.” - Jonathan Edwards
5) Presumption Before God - Humility approaches God with humble assurance in Christ Jesus. But the prideful Christian, rather than letting God tell him what to do, finds himself telling God what he wants done.
“Some, in their great rejoicing before God, have not paid sufficient regard to that rule in Psalm 2:11: ‘Worship the Lord with reverence, and rejoice with trembling.’” - Jonathan Edwards
6) Desperation for Attention - Pride is hungry for attention, respect and worship in all its forms. Maybe it sounds like shameless boasting about ourselves. Maybe it’s being unable to say “no” to anyone because we need to be needed. You seek glory that comes from men, not God.
7) Neglecting Others - Pride prefers some people over others. It honors those whom the world deems worthy of honor, giving more weight to their words, their wants and their needs.
In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul warns of how pride was Israel’s undoing, and then cautions us to learn from their mistakes.
“These are all warning markers - danger! - in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel - they at the beginning, we at the end - and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.” - 1 Corinthians 10:11-12 (The Message)
Conclusion: James reminds us in verse 11 that everyone, whether they are a “have” or a “have not” will one day pass from this earth, because we have only one life to live; and beyond that, is eternity. So let’s live our lives with eternity in view. This is how God created us to live.
“He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]” - Ecclesiastes 3:11 (Amplified)
So, whether we find ourselves facing a “have” or a “have not” situation in life, let’s keep our eyes on the Lord and seek to humbly lean on Him, live for Him, and look to Him to guide us every step of the way as we seek to live our lives on purpose for His glory today, and eventually, for all eternity.
“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus . . .” - Hebrews 12:1b-2a (NIV)
May we live today as we will live for all eternity, with our eyes fixed on Jesus.
You are good, You are good when there’s nothing good in me;
You are love, You are love on display for all to see;
You are light, You are light when the darkness closes in;
You are hope, You are hope, You have covered all my sin.
You are peace, You are peace when my fear is crippling;
You are true, You are true even in my wandering;
You are joy, You are joy, You’re the reason that I sing;
You are life, You are life, in You death has lost its sting.
You are more, You are more than my words will ever say;
You are Lord, You are Lord, all creation will proclaim;
You are here, You are here, In Your presence I’m made whole;
You are God, You are God, Of all else I’m letting go.
Oh, I’m running to Your arms, I’m running to Your arms;
The riches of Your love will always be enough.
Nothing compares to Your embrace;
Light of the world forever reign!
