James 4:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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" —

NIV: Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."

NASB: Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.'

CSB: Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit."

NLT: Look here, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.'

KJV: Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

NKJV: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;

In the previous verse, James warned about arrogantly judging our neighbors for their sinfulness. Now he begins a section about the arrogance of imagining that we have total control over the events of our own lives. Over the next few verses, he will point out that true humility means recognizing our limitations. We really don't know everything about the future. Even our best planning is still subject to God's will.

This verse sets up this point with a generic business plan. The problem here is not in making the plan—James doesn't go on to say that planning is sinful, or foolish. The problem James is relating, by using this example, is an attitude of self-reliance. "Tomorrow, I will do this or that." Verse 16 shows the attitude James intends behind the words of this verse. Making such a statement, out of confidence in one's own ability, and without humility, is unwise.

The context of the prior passage is important. James has been discussing the problem of following the thought process of the world, instead of the wisdom of God. Here, James imagines a businessman declaring how he will make more money, how he will get what he wants out of life. In context, this is meant to mean one who is planning according to the pattern of the world. This man is making plans and vowing to keep them in his own power and by the force of his own will.

That's not the life of dependence God calls His children to walk in.

James 4:13–17 focuses on the arrogance of planning for our own success without acknowledging that we are dependent on God. It is foolish to ignore the fact that we can't see the future. Our lives are short and fragile. This doesn't mean never making plans. Rather, we should always make plans with the awareness that they can only succeed if God allows them to. Any other attitude is sinful, arrogant, and short-sighted.

What was causing fights and quarrels among the Christians to whom James was writing? They were living by the world's wisdom. This false perspective says human beings should do whatever it takes to get what they want in this life, even if it hurts other people. James says that to live that way is adultery, but God gives grace. Christians should repent and move close to God again. We should trust Him to provide, to be the Judge, and to lift us up in His time. In humility, we must acknowledge that all of our plans are dependent on Him, and He can change them at any moment.

The book of James is about what it means for a Christian to live a life of complete trust in God. Chapter 4 builds on the end of chapter 3, where James described the self-seeking wisdom of the world. Following this worldliness was the cause of fights among James's Christian readers. He called them to repent and, in humility, receive God's grace. He called them to stop making their plans for business as if they could accomplish anything without God. In chapter 5, he will continue to talk about the dangers of trusting riches instead of the Lord.

The book of James is about specifically understanding what saving faith looks like. How does faith in Christ reveal itself in a believer's life? What choices does real trust in God lead us to make? Those are the questions James answers. Most scholars believe the writer was Jesus' half-brother, a son born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus' birth. James may not have come to believe Jesus was the Messiah until after the resurrection. Eventually, though, he became one of the leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem. This is possibly the earliest-written of all the New Testament books, around AD 40–50. James addresses his letter to Jewish Christians scattered around the known world.