Introduction

Have you ever read anything about terrible predictions? I love this list that I stumbled upon this week

Mathematical economist Irving Fisher confidently proclaimed in 1929, three days before the Great Depression: “Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.” In 1977, Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, stated, “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” Darryl Zanuck, a movie producer at Twentieth Century Fox, said in 1946 that television wouldn’t last because “people will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” “The Beatles have no future in show business,” a Decca Records executive told the band’s manager, Brian Epstein, in 1962. “We don’t like your boys’ sound. Groups are out; four-piece groups with guitars, particularly, are finished.” Phillip Franklin, vice president of the White Star Line, which had produced the Titanic, stated, “There is no danger that Titanic will sink.”^[1]

Comedic, right? As we think back on these failed projections. But maybe we personally have experienced something like this as well. Maybe it’s in where you live or your career. There were unexpected moves along the way that you could never have anticipated. 

Option 1: Proud Planning

As we consider James’s words, we might think of the first idea of what not to do.

Who is James describing?

It is speculated that these are wealthy merchants who, upon coming to Christ, had a great cost but then, as things became more comfortable, started reverting back to their previous way of living. Coming to Christ is a specific action that requires sacrifice. It necessarily means dying to ourselves and taking on the cost of being a follower of Jesus. But the Christian life is also a battle. We can easily fall into familiar ways of thinking.

Christians can operate as practical atheists

The first way that pride finds itself into their planning is by failing to see God in their plans. Do we notice the pattern in their planning? It’s all things that they plan to do and what they see as a certainty. Some of it is a missed a bit in translation. New Testament scholars can help us here 

The consistent use of the future tense indicative verbs—“we will go” (πορευσόμεθα), “we will spend” (ποιήσομεν), “we will do business” (ἐμπορευσόμεθα), and “we will profit” (κερδήσομεν)—shows a confidence that these plans will be carried out^[2]

Moo writes,

James is not rebuking these merchants for their plans or even for their desire to make a profit. He rebukes them rather for the this-worldly self-confidence that they exhibit in pursuing these goals—a danger, it must be said, to which businesspeople are particularly susceptible^[3]

Hughes helps us apply these truths,

So pervasive is our culture’s arrogant independence of God that even many (most?) Christians attend church, marry, choose their vocations, have children, buy and sell homes, expand their portfolios, and numbly ride the currents of culture without substantial reference to the will of God. More Christians never seriously pray about God’s will regarding their vocation, family direction, or entertainments than actually seek God’s will. They change Augustine’s “Love God and do as you please” to “Do as you please and say that you love God.”^[4]

This is countered by recognizing our limitations

A counter to this way of thinking is to meditate upon our finitude. Do you see that’s what James does in the passage? He reminds them of two things: their limited knowledge and their limited time on earth. In terms of their limited knowledge, this should help them recognize the limits to their planning. They don’t know tomorrow. They have neither the knowledge of what will happen nor the ability to make sure it happens. Creatures may exercise control over certain things, but are contingent upon factors outside their control. 

Proverbs 27:1 says,

Do not boast about tomorrow, 

for you do not know what a day may bring.^[5]

Think about this time of year. People from all over fill out an NCAA bracket for basketball. And year after year, people are disappointed. In fact, there has not been one perfect bracket. The odds of it happening at random are 1 in 9.2 quintillion. What does that mean? I love this illustration from one website, 

As of 2015, the best estimates for the number of trees on the planet was three trillion. Imagine that there was one single acorn hidden in one of those three trillion trees, and you were tasked with finding it on the first guess. Your odds of success are approximately three million times greater than picking a perfect bracket.

But what if people knew quite a bit about basketball, what if every person in the nation filled out a unique bracket and got at least 66% of it correct? Even with those odds, it would happen once every 366 years.^[6]

We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. We don’t know the outcome of a specific game, let alone the myriad of factors at play every single day. 

Finite time

Not only are we limited in our knowledge, we are limited in our time. Speaking of their limited time on earth, we mentioned already that James was writing to Jewish Christians. Those who grew up with the Psalms as their hymn book. If you are familiar with the Psalms you will know that the idea of life as a vapor is common. The ephemeral nature of humanity is often put in contrast with the infinite attributes of God.

Psalm 103:15-17 is an example,

As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children,

When we begin to fall into the trap of practical atheism in our planning, we should remember who we are in light of who God is. This both humbles us and gives us reason for hope. Our plans are not all there is, when things go wrong there is still hope. God is bigger than our plans. His ways are higher than our ways. His wisdom far exceeds our capacities. We may get a bracket correct, but God knows perfectly this year, next year, and when brackets will cease to be. 

Transition

Countering this does not solve the problem though does it? It certainly can humble us and a recognition that we don’t control the future can help prevent us from being selfish but it doesn’t give much hope for looking ahead? What, then, do we do? 

Option 2: Planning and Providence

Remember that James has already instructed his readers to ask for wisdom. Wisdom is necessary in knowing how to navigate life and planning is a part of that process. James instruction is not to remove planning, he actually includes it in his positive instruction. This instruction also solves the dilemma for limited creatures. How can we look ahead if we are not guaranteed tomorrow, better yet, why even think about tomorrow if there’s no guarantee? Understanding that there is a God who is sovereign over all helps us in the present and gives meaning to the future. We can look forward not because we can know the future but we know the One how holds the future. We know that we can’t know how things will go perfectly, but we can depend on the basic patterns of the world because God designed the world to operate a certain way. 

God has not left us alone to walk in obedience but has supplied us with what we need.

We should acknowledge God’s sovereignty in our planning

James tells us the way forward. Just like our words can deal destruction or reveal our lack of trust they can also reveal our faith. His instruction is to say “If the Lord wills.” The movement is from our will as the determining factor to God’s will. It’s one of humble submission. Often specific wording is helpful for this. We see this on several occasions throughout the New Testament Letters

Paul told the Ephesians in Acts 18:21,

²¹ But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.^[7]

Or in 1 Corinthians 4:19a

¹⁹ But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills…

Romans 1:10

¹⁰ always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.^[8]

Or Hebrews 6:3

³ And this we will do if God permits.^[9]

Throughout church history, this expression has been used. The Puritans loved the phrase and used the Latin Deo Volente, “God Willing.” Methodist ministers followed the example and signed many of their letters with the initials D.V. Standing for the Latin phrase.^[10]

But there are also Biblical examples of plans made without this expression

Acts 19:21, 

Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”^[11]

Romans 15:28,

²⁸ When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you.^[12]

Kent Hughes says it like this, 

The right mind-set—dependence on God—is more important than saying the right words.^[13]

Calvin says it this way,

 James does not reprove the form speaking, but rather the arrogance of mind, that people should forget their own weakness and speak thus presumptuously; for even the godly, who think humbly of themselves, and acknowledge that their steps are guided by the will of God, may yet sometimes say, without any qualifying clause, that they will do this or that.^[14]

We see the Proverbs discuss this in terms of God’s sovereignty. A common Proverb is Proverb 16:9 which says, “A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” 

A sixth-century commentator known as the Philosopher also echoed this sentiment,

James does not take away our free will but points out that everything we do is part of a wider plan which is governed by God’s grace. Even if we are able to run around and get on with the business of this life, we must not attribute this ability to our own efforts but accept that we can do these things only by the blessing of God.^[15]

Seeing your plans as permanent ink will only frustrate you going forward. Instead, recognize that you hold a pencil and are subject to the permanent ink of one whose ways are higher than your ways. 

Self-reliance is defiance

In the midst of the positive instruction, James reminds them of their present condition and what it means. They boast in their arrogance, their self-reliance is defiance against the God who created them and sustains them. Notice what James says, if the Lord wills then we will live and do this or that. Our very lives are dependent upon the will of God. We can take care of our health, we can avoid danger, but ultimately God is the one who is sovereign over our lives.

They are dependent upon God for the very breath they breathe and yet fail to recognize that dependence in their planning. Keeping with a theme throughout the book, this is evil. Earlier, he reminded them of the demonic influences of their arrogance, and here he tells them that it is evil. Evil is contrary to God and his purposes. That is helpful for us to recognize. So often we associate evil with certain acts that are done by people out there. We can have a list in our own mind or think of grievous sins. But James is reminding his readers that not including God in our decision-making is evil. It is asserting ourselves as kings of the universe. It is failing to recognize our limitations. It is not operating out of thankful dependence but arrogant self-reliance. 

It’s the kid who is planning an expensive vacation and all the things they will do and see without recognizing they don’t have a dime to their name but are depending on their parents money to do it. 

Don’t let future goals prevent present godliness

In the last verse of our section this morning, James goes from specific to general. But I hope that we can see the implications. When it comes to planning and providence or we might say human responsibility and divine sovereignty, it is often confusing. We desperately want to know what’s God’s will. Often, in this, we are thinking of God’s secret will that only he knows. The truth is that we don’t have access to that. What we do have access to is what God has clearly revealed to us in His Word. We do have access to the wisdom of others who can help us apply His Word to our lives. While it is certainly good to try to discern and assess what our gifts are and what makes sense for us. Often  this is a very narrow view. We seek to determine this through one aspect of our lives and neglect many others. Don’t get so caught up in what might be for you up ahead that you lose the fact that God has you right where you are and you can use your present opportunities and even future planning for his glory and the good of those around you. Don’t let future hopes prevent present obedience. This can take place with hopes of marriage and children and we neglect God’s good design for who to marry. It can take place in future career hopes and we neglect God’s good gifts that are around us right now. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, are we living faithfully today? 

We should remember the parable of Jesus in Luke 12

¹⁶ And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷ and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”^[16]

Conclusion

While James is likely writing to Christians to guard them from falling back into a faulty but familiar way of living, we should also notice how this passage points us to the gospel message for those who have never trusted in Jesus Christ. Maybe you are here this morning and you would identify yourself as an atheist. Maybe you don’t believe that God exists. This passage is for you this morning as well. Just as James reminded his audience of their dependence, I want to remind you of your dependence. Maybe you are planning your days, weeks, and years without an acknowledgement of the God who made you and takes care of you. Stop. Scripture teaches that we are made in the image of God. It teaches us that we know there is a God but suppress this truth. It also teaches us that God uses the truth of Scripture to convict us and by the Holy Spirit to cause us to see what we have been denying all along. I want to remind you of your limitations. Understand that you don’t need to bear the weight of giving your life meaning and purpose but that it already has meaning and purpose because you were made by a God who loves you and knows what’s best for you. But you, like me and every person in the world, have gone your own way; you’ve trusted in your own path and found time after time that it didn’t give the meaning and fulfillment you were looking for. You have seen that you don’t have what it takes in yourself. The best news is that the God who made you also provided a way back to him.

James is critical here and gives them a taste of how quickly our life comes and goes. If we are living for ourselves, that is disappointing. But if we recognize that we are part of a much bigger story that God is writing, then we can understand even our quick lives matter as a part of that beautiful story. Although our lives are short, we get to be a part of a story that stretches into eternity. 

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^[1] Jim Samra, James, 1 & 2 Peter, and Jude, ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2016), 68.

^[2] Craig L. Blomberg and Mariam J. Kamell, James, vol. 16, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 207.

^[3] Douglas J. Moo, The Letter of James, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2000), 202.

^[4] R. Kent Hughes, James: Faith That Works, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1991), 202–203.

^[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Pr 27:1.

^[6] “The Absurd Odds of a Perfect NCAA Bracket | NCAA.Com,” accessed March 29, 2025, https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/bracketiq/2023-03-16/perfect-ncaa-bracket-absurd-odds-march-madness-dream.

^[7] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ac 18:21.

^[8] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 1:10.

^[9] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Heb 6:3.

^[10] See R. Kent Hughes, James: Faith That Works, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1991), 206.

^[11] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ac 19:21.

^[12] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 15:28.

^[13] R. Kent Hughes, James: Faith That Works, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1991), 206.

^[14] Ronald K. Rittgers and Timothy George, eds., Hebrews, James: New Testament, vol. XIII, Reformation Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2017), 250.

^[15] Gerald Bray, ed., James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 52.

^[16] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 12:16–21.