James 4:13

The Presumptuous Use Of Time

When we think of what some have called the sin of worldliness, we often think in terms of immodest apparel, filthy language, watching the wrong kind of television programs, movies and so on. But. worldly attitude also includes being hypercritical of our brethren (James 4:11-12), and planning for the future without really including God in our plans. James chapter. reminds us that there is more much involved in being. Christian than just planning ahead or using your talents, abilities and financial resources in. prudent manner. All self-starters, all conservative thinkers, and all hard workers are not necessarily right with God. More is needed to be right with God than rugged individualism. "The following industrious businessman who make careful and elaborate plans without any regard for God. The various activities may not be improper, but if God is ignored, they are worldly" (Kent p. 160).

James 4:13 "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such. city, and spend. year there and engage in business and make. profit'"."Come now" -Somewhat like our "come, come now". It is. way of saying, "Take. good look at what you are really saying". The King James, "Go to now", is an expression that sounds strange to our ears, but in times past was. way getting someone's attention. "you who say" -There is some discussion among commentators concerning who is being addressed in this section. Many assume that James is rebuking the arrogance of Jewish businessmen. But why would James suddenly start talking to non-Christians, in. letter than has been thus far directed right at Christians? In addition, the attitude, "if the Lord wills" (James 4:15), won't help an unbeliever unless they first become. Christian. But such. attitude would be the repentance necessary by one who is already. Christian. "Today or tomorrow" -indicating that these were real plans and not just pipe dreams."we shall go to such and such. city" -Barclay notes, "So the picture is the picture of. man looking at. map. He points at. certain spot on it, and says, 'Here is. new city where there are great trade chances. I'll go there; and I'll get in on the ground floor; and I'll trade for. year or so; and I'll make my fortune, and come back rich'" (p. 133). Hence. person could return, buy. large piece of property, become. wealthy landowner or gentlemen farmer and enjoy the good life. Note, nothing has really changed. The same attitude to make it rich, the same high hopes and confident expectations have fueled people during the gold rush, and still fuel people today.

Points To Note:

1. The people being rebuked probably included God in many other aspects of their lives (i.e. worship services, and so on). But in their business plans, they have left God out. These aren't atheists, rather they are brethren who are forgetting that God is to be included in every aspect of their lives. But how often do we tend to want to exclude God from. certain area of our lives? 2. We should be impressed that people in the first century world, far from being primitive, were quite the travelers. Roads, shipping and communications in the Roman Empire were well organized. Kent notes, "Travel, while not comfortable or luxurious by modern standards, was nevertheless regularly done. The New Testament itself reveals the readiness with which Paul could travel great distances. An example from the business world is the situation of Aquila and Priscilla, whose travels can be reconstructed from the New Testament data: Rome to Corinth (Acts 18:2); Corinth to Ephesus (James 18:18-19); Ephesus to Rome (Romans 16:3); Rome to Ephesus (2 Timothy 4:19)" (p. 160). 3. Good old American ingenuity is not. substitute for Christianity. Carefully note, the people in this section are self-motivated, they aren't lazy. They are industrious, they are self-starters, they believe in the work ethic, they are not wanting. handout, they want to make their own way in life---and yet, God rebukes them. "and spend. year there and engage in business and make. profit" -The expression "engage in business" is translated from. Greek word, from whence we get the English word "emporium". It means to traffic, carry on trade, to go. trading.

Points To Note:

1. Carefully note that there is nothing wrong with conducting business and making. profit. God endorses the private ownership of property, goods and making legitimate profit (Acts 5:4). God also endorses hard work, providing for one's family and attending to your own business (Ephesians 4:28; 1 Thessalonians 4:11; 1 Timothy 5:8; 2 Thessalonians 3:10). 2. What is being rebuked is making all these plans without any dependence upon God. Even Christians can make the mistake of thinking that when it comes to business, everything depends upon our own human talents and wisdom. That in this area of our lives, we don't need any help from God. How many of us go to. job interview without praying first? Enter. business meeting without prayer? Make plans for. career or attempt to further our career or business with little trust in God? "It must not be concluded that James was condemning wise planning. Jesus taught His followers the folly of failing to calculate one's resources before beginning some enterprise (Luke 14:28). What is denounced is planning that leaves God out, planning that thinks human ingenuity alone is all that is necessary" (Kent p. 161). 3. Every Christian at any age can fall into the above trap. Young couples can make all sorts of plans for. house, children and so on---with very little dependence upon God. We can leave God out of our retirement plans, make huge and far reaching financial decisions without praying to God, plan our future education and career, plan our children's educational future---with very little trust in God. And why is this so? Is it because we tend to think that God can't help us with such decisions? Or, is it because we inwardly believe that practicing Christianity and being successful in business are opposites? If the truth were told,. sometimes think that while we believe that God knows what He is doing and saying about eternal life and what one must do to be saved, we're really not sure if God knows what He is talking about when the Bible touches upon the way we conduct ourselves in business. We tend to trust human wisdom, human authors and human experts in the business realm more than we trust in divine wisdom.

These verses should make us really think, "Why are we. Christian?" One writer noted, "Christians today frequently pride themselves on being different from the world, but in reality they are usually only different from. particular segment of the world….Because we cling to conservative American values, we tell ourselves that we're acting independently of our culture. But conservative attitudes can be just as much. part of the world as liberal ones….We're only fooling ourselves when we equate conservative attitudes with godly attitudes"

The point is that often we think we are really doing good because we believe in the work ethic, and we are working hard ourselves, without realizing that many people with the same attitude are lost! Are we. Christian merely because we naturally like various conservative ideas that we find in the Bible, or are we. Christian because we have realized that we cannot live without God? And that we have come to love Him with our whole mind, heart, soul and strength?