"Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that." but now you boast in your arrogance. All such boast is evil.
if the Lord wills
There are those who do not believe God is an involved, caring presence in
their lives. It is natural for them to
make plans and speak just as is written in these verses. “I” plays lead role, always takes center
stage, and tries to dictate all other factors.
Yet even an atheist recognizes events and happenings are often beyond an
individual’s control. Consider the
impact of an accident, illness, or death.
The question for a Christ follower is this; will you make your plans
with an arrogant attitude, aloof to God and His involvement in your life?
But wait, did the disciples each say, “If the Lord wills we will do thus
and such…” every time they made a plan?
If we reduce these verses to saying a few key words we miss the point
entirely. Anyone can say words and not
really mean what they say, or say a set of words so often and without thinking
to the point that the words are little more than recited sounds. I believe the heart of what James is saying
here is that Christians ought to have a Christ-centered mindset. That mindset will affect every aspect of our
lives; even our business affairs and planning.
Yes, we do need to plan, but the plan is submitted to God both for
‘permission’ and for ‘care’. The ‘permission’
aspect ties into the surrounding passages where James addresses words, wealth,
activities and principles. Is your plan
in line with the law of Love? If not, it
is doubtful you have ‘permission’ even if the world is shouting “Go for it!” The ‘care’ part of this is built in to our
understanding of God and His character.
Do you know Him well enough to know that He has your best interest in
mind? Do you know Him well enough to
trust Him to meet your real needs? Do
you know Him well enough to believe that even when things do not go according
to plan He can and will use it for good for those who love Him and are called
according to His purposes? Do you know
Him well enough to know that if you run away from Him, He will do everything
possible—except violate your free will—to draw you to Himself?
If you really know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you know it is not only
wise, but it is safe to [either verbally
or non-verbally] say with all your heart, “If the Lord wills…”
Read
and Pray: Proverbs 27:1, Luke
12:16-21, Psalm 39:4-7
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