James 4:13-17

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin.”

— ‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭17‬‬

 The previous section attacks a number of errors that can creep into a church: friendship with the world (4:4), fighting/arguing (4:1), pride (4:6-7, 10), slandering (4:11). As is often the case, the major solution to these issues is an attitude of humility (4:6, 10).

James transitions from an instructional approach to a reasoning approach. “Come now.” This invites the reader to think about the things he/she might be saying.

Just look at that opening statement. The hypothetical person is assuming so much about their travels (not to mention James’ point about tomorrow even coming): They have the precise timing, the perfect place/ business location, temporary shelter, guarantee of profit. None of this is guaranteed. 

It would take more than a day to do all this, probably weeks or months. James reminds them (and us), we can’t even control one day. Not even one breath.

And more, everything that they have assumed is completely out of their control. They may be able to develop strategies or best practices or use past weather diagrams, etc, haha. But God is the only one who controls all things time and space related. If I can’t even control if I take another breath (outside of trying to breathe with my lungs one more time), then how stable can I really say my business model is, my family plan, my budget, my circle of friends??

And for someone who thrives on stability, this passage is a regular gut punch. Nothing is stable or secure or—here’s the key word—controllable. All must be trusted to the Sovereign.

James uses the famous mist analogy to teach about how long we have to live. Granted, their life expectancy was shorter than modern humans, but I don’t think that was the point. (Sarcasm) In light of eternity (and compared to an infinite God), any human life time is here for a second and then gone. (Sounds like we switched to Ecclesiastes. Which is a good place to insert that James is known for his wisdom literature connections.)

James 1:9-10 commanded the poor and the rich to boast. How come? Poor boasts in exaltation. Rich boasts in being brought low, and all of this is done “in Christ.” The point is that within the family of Christ, socio-economic status doesn’t matter (a key theme in James). Our identity is Jesus, and He is our only source of confidence/boasting. Nothing we do for ourselves is worth pretty much anything.

Boasting in arrogance. Probably not a general attitude of arrogance, but it is specific to the context. Their attitude about their plans for the future makes them arrogant. They had not considered God’s will, making them proud.

These ideas are all connected throughout James, even back to James 1. Trusting God believes that trials have a purpose. And in the midst of those trials, the rich and poor (1:9-11) re- late to one another well. They live in humility and serve one another to demonstrate their faith (2:14- 26). Boasting about my business plans and what I can accomplish is not relying on God or (perhaps) giving me a heart for serving others.

This is not really a call to say “God willing” after everything. Sometimes it feels appropriate, and I say it sometimes. This is a lifestyle of surrendering control. No detail of daily life lies outside the realm of needing Him.

Now the biggie. V. 17. How many times have we heard about sins of omission, and pick your favorite, whether not serving the poor, or not evangelizing enough, or not giving enough. All are necessary. All are fine (and in light of James, especially helping the poor would be considered “good.”)

So what’s the “good” in James 4? Is it all good things? It’s probably true that not doing any type of good displeases God. But James was probably thinking of something more specific. 

In light of chapter 1-2, is it only limited to seeing someone in need and not helping? Is this going back to works showing our faith? Perhaps, and I think we’re getting warmer, but it may be more related to this passage.

At least in this context, the right thing would be not to boast/brag or depend on riches. We should rely on God. And that’s the link to helping those in need from ch 2 and even leads into the next passage. If you know to help, and you don’t, that’s a problem. And it may reflect an attitude of pride/arrogance/boasting.