James 4: up 13 -16

It is foolish not to plan. Do not take my word for it, read the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament. In the military, they taught us that a failure to plan has the same results as a plan to fail. Nothing James says in vs. 13-16 changes that. It is just as unwise for Christians not to plan as it is for the ungodly. James does not have a problem with Christians planning; he has a problem with Christians planning as if they were still ungodly. Becoming a Christian is a new birth, a new beginning, and that new birth should result in much of your life been lived in a new way. It most definitely should result in you making plans differently than you made plans before you met the lord.

Christians plan with an eye that sees beyond the horizon of death. Christians have awareness that they have received the gift of eternal life. They change how they live their life because of that awareness. They no longer make their plans motivated by dreams of building a business and becoming wealthy. A desire to please the lord and to build his kingdom is now their driving motivation. They are aware that the worldly wealth they accumulate will not go with them beyond the grave. Someone else will inherit the business they build; however, the people they lead to the lord will live with them in eternity.

They do not boast of schemes that revolve around worldly ambition. They boast of the grace of God, and tell of his great mercy. They do not boast about the things they have, they share the story of the salvation they have been given. They do not brag about what they are going to do, they tell of their desire to discover God’s will and to fulfill it. Christians do not plan less, wise Christians plan more, but they no longer plan along. Christians plan with the Holy Spirit as guide and counselor. Christians plan because it pleases the Lord for them to do so. Christians plan to please the Lord.