James 4:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

NIV: As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.

NASB: But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.

CSB: But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

NLT: Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.

KJV: But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

NKJV: But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

James began this section with what sounds to our ears like a pretty innocuous statement. In verse 13, he pictured a businessman saying, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit." What could be wrong with that? The context of this statement, however, is James's discussion of worldly wisdom. Specifically, James is condemning the attitude which ignores God and focuses on selfish ambition. This is an attitude which leads us to abuse others.

This verse supports that James has in mind a particular attitude behind the words of verses 13 and 14. In that context—bragging about one's plans devoid of God's influence—such a statement reveals arrogance and self-reliance. It is foolish for creatures as short-lived and near-sighted as we are to assert with confidence that we will accomplish our plans to gather up good for ourselves. We can't predict the future and we could very well die by tomorrow.

The good news for those of us who are in Christ is that God is for us. In love, He directs the course of our lives. Every good that has ever come our way is from Him (James 1:17), and He has promised to provide all we need now and great abundance with Him for eternity. To declare our independence in the face of that is more than just foolish, James now writes. It is evil and arrogant boasting.

What does God want from us, instead? First, to make plans with the intent of obeying the will of God in the first place. Then, to speak of any human plans with the awareness that God may well interfere with them if they are not His will (James 3:15). He wants us to trust Him, to live every moment in dependence on Him.

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.