In 1 Corinthians 6:19 we find an important truth about our life. That is, it doesn’t belong to us. Paul said, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” The idea that “you are not your own” is deeply troubling for the vast majority of those in our world. Western Culture is all about self autonomy. I can be whoever or whatever I choose to be; I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, and how dare you say a word against any of my choices. Such an attitude is the epitome of selfishness, and it is the kind of attitude James condemns in James 4:16–“But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”
The “boasting” of which James speaks is presumptuous bragging. Just as it is now, there were those in the first century who lived as if their life was their own. As if they had all the time in the world and so they would seek to take care of themselves and their own interest first, then see to the will of God later. James 4:13-17 condemns that kind of thinking and reminds us of three important truths.
First, life is short and unpredictable (Jas. 4:13-14). We make big plans and dream big dreams. We put our children through school and help prepare them for the future, we put money aside for retirement and for that dream vacation. Plans and goals are good and part of good stewardship. But, of course, sometimes those plans do not come to fruition, and usually because of factors that exist outside of our control. An illness, a death, a natural disaster, a global conflict that sends the economy into a tailspin. Whatever the case, “time and chance” happen to us all (Ecc. 9:11). Our days are “swifter than a weaver’s shuttle” (Job 7:6). Our time is short (Ps. 89:47) and even in the prime of life we are nothing more than a vapor (Ps. 39:5).
Second, God’s will must be the priority (Jas. 4:15). When James said, “Instead you ought to say, if the lord wills, we shall live and do this or that,” he wasn’t telling us that our time is predetermined and out of our control. It’s not a denial of free-will. The point is that our God is alive and providentially working out His will, and thus our attitude in life should be to prioritize His desires (cf. Gen. 15:16; 17:21; Esth. 4:14; Gal. 4:14). Solomon put it this way: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end” (Ecc. 3:11). The word “beautiful” refers to what is good, proper, or appropriate. And so there’s a certain meaningfulness to the passage of time and the experiences of life when we recognize God as the sovereign of time and do things His way.
Third, we must do what good we can, while we can (Jas. 4:17). The problem with the boaster (v. 13, 16) is that he never took the time to do anything for the Lord. He did not recognize the brief and transitory nature of life, he did not acknowledge God in any of his plans or bother himself with what God wants. Instead, he pushed the good he could do for the Kingdom to the side in order to do whatever he wanted to do in the moment. God comes later. James said that this kind of thinking is sinful. Failing to do what we can in service to God now in order to wait until tomorrow assumes that we will have tomorrow.
So, what is the solution? How do we deal with such a short and unpredictable life? It does us no good to worry about it or live in fear of it. It is also incorrect to leave God out of it. This is the issue at hand in James 3:13-17. A wealthy businessman becomes so consumed with plans and profit that he never takes the time to consider God. Instead, we should see time clearly as a gift from God. We would redeem it (Eph. 5:16), make the most of it (Gal. 6:10), measure it (Ps. 90:12), and glorify God with it, to the best of our ability. Do not presume to have time an opportunity in the future. Life is like a vapor, it is here today but it may be gone tomorrow.