But a Vapor
Notes
Transcript
James does now change topics. While these fit loosely, this really is a new topic.
2 slides
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.” Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.
Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.
Get this out in the open, this is not rebuking growing finances and doing work. James is, however, rebuking thinking that we are in full control of our life, plans, successes, and failures.
Greed = wrong
Working hard and gaining profit = not wrong
The plans of the diligent certainly lead to profit, but anyone who is reckless certainly becomes poor.
There is profit in all hard work, but endless talk leads only to poverty.
3 slides
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities.
He then left on his trip. “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
“But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver.
God wants us to be fruitful with what He has given us. James’s message is concerning people’s view of how life works and their own planning.
As God’s people, we should recognize that God is in control, and we should long to do what it is that God is calling us to, when He is calling us to do it.
Our plan should be to follow God’s plan in our lives.
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.” Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.
Times have changed, but the idea of traveling for better business is still very much a reality.
And at this time in history, the Roman world was ripe for commerce, so people would really resonate with this though and example.
But even if we’re not traveling, what if we’re starting a business? Changing our career plans? Buying a house vs renting?
How much do you pray over life changes before making decisions?
i.e. are you leading and asking God to bless you, or are you asking God for direction and doing your best to follow His plans?
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Back to James
Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.
You are like a vapor. Doesn’t that make you feel good?
There needs to be a healthy balance in how we see our relationship with God.
If we are ALL God cares about, then it’s easy for us to become the center of the Universe, and believe, or act like, God worships us.
This is that counterweight and counter balance. It’s not meant to make you feel small and unimportant. But rather it’s meant to help us keep things in perspective.
God is God, and I am not. I will worship, I will follow, I am His and He is my God.
Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
James is not saying that we shouldn’t make plans. He’s asserting the reality that our plans need to leave room for God to be God.
Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.
So we’re not supposed to go about life all “willy-nilly” without a care of plan. But we are supposed to make our plans in prayerful consideration, and with allowing God to speak to us and move us when He wills.
“The Lord works in mysterious ways” - Sometimes when God gives us directive, He does so more or less when it is supposed to happen.
If we don’t leave room for God to work in our lives, how can we ever expect to see God do things through us and in us?
But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
There’s a difference between healthy confidence, and arrogance.
Proper planning is done with God, through prayer, and leaves room for God to move throughout.
Immediate vs short term vs medium term vs long term planning
Today, this week / month, this year, 5 year plans
We naturally make adjustments to our plans as things change. That’s normal. So if we adjust for life situations, why wouldn’t we adjust for God’s call in our lives?
Sometimes means letting go of our plans.
LEAVE ROOM FOR GOD TO WORK!
It’s our unwillingness to let go of plans when God calls that makes the arrogance.
And if we brag on our own plan, our own strength and ability to “make it”, then that is boasting. And this type of boasting is a sin!
Boasting as in “We are so blessed to have such an amazing church family that loves on the community” isn’t sinful boasting. It’s showing appreciation to what God has done and has given.
“‘This is what the Lord says: The wise person should not boast in his wisdom; the strong should not boast in his strength; the wealthy should not boast in his wealth. But the one who boasts should boast in this: that he understands and knows me— that I am the Lord, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things. This is the Lord’s declaration.
Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
So if we know we are to live humbly and with room in our schedules and plans for God to move through us - and we don’t....that’s a sin.
This is kind of like a understanding that a lie of omission is still a lie.
One of the things I’ve worked very hard at is being an example of faith and following God to the fullest before my kids.
It’s made for some uncomfortable table conversations. It’s been hard to explain certain things to certain people.
But I believe that one of the best ways we teach our children is by example (even though it often requires explanation later). And if that’s accurate, then I needed to show them that following God is the best course by doing it.
The outcomes have not always been what I expected or would desire, or what I think was best. But that’s OKAY! It’s what God says needs to happen that matters.
Trusting God is also trusting that He’s still working when things don’t work out the way we think they should.
Worship team come up
So follow God.
Leave room for Him to move in your life and through you.
Take that next step and opportunity to obey God when He calls to you.
If you’re not sure when that is - pay attention when you feel like you need to do something that you normally wouldn’t do.
If that doesn’t go against God’s Word (ie, test the spirit), say “here I am Lord, speak” and follow through.
Give that person on the street corner the $20 in your pocket.
Donate blood. Volunteer at the day care. Tell the person they are valued and loved.
Not all of God’s calls are to walk along people in Pakistan, or Africa, or moving across the country. So take that next step and see how God wants to move through you.
Pray -
God, thank you for reminding us of who you are and who we are in the grand scheme of things. We don’t need to get even bigger heads than we already have. We don’t need to think we are the center of the universe, especially when You are the only one worthy to be praised. We are but a vapor, here for only a moment throughout your vast plan. Help us to lean into you and trust your plan, even when we don’t see how it’s working. Help us to keep perspective and leave room for you to work in us and through us while we make plans. Guide us in our plans to be blessings to those around us. Be with your people. In Jesus’s name, amen.
