James 4:13-17--Boasting About Tomorrow

​James 4:13-17 English Standard Version (ESV)
Boasting About Tomorrow
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.

Listen to the text by clicking this link:  https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Jas.4.13-Jas.4.17​

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First, a PSA of sorts.  While talking to some of my friends who regularly view my blogs, they suggested that it would be helpful to them if I included the link to the passage in a format where they could listen to it, so I'm going to try to remember to provide that at the end of each passage.  I've also posted links to various audio Bibles and Reading Plans in our Discord community.

Now back to the text.  No man knows the number of days that He has been given.  It is not that we are to fail to plan for the future, as Proverbs and some other places very clearly tell us not to be slothful and to learn from the ant that is busy storing away food for the winter while it is summer.  So, what then is this talking about?  I think it's talking about making plans that are all about you that are centered in pride and that forget to include the Lord and lack a spirit of submission to His will and His plan.  The key words in this passage are "I will" and pride and boasting are of the flesh, not of the Spirit.

​James reminds us to always leave room for God to change our plans, for Him to call us home, and for Him to get the credit and the glory for the things we accomplish because Him name should always be on our lips--we accomplish nothing without His assistance or blessing.  Let's remember that even as we make plans to not be self-centered and boastful like the world.  This is one of the ways that we not only bring glory and honor to God but get to share the gospel with others because this is a radically different type of mindset that will cause people to ask questions.  Let's remind each other (those who we know are Christians) to include God in all of our plans and to give Him the final say in everything.