Some Help in Avoiding Pride and Presumption

Between the closing door of 2008 and the opening door of 2009, the book of James, sometimes referred to as the Proverbs of the New Testament, gives us wisdom in our approach to daily living. Especially in chapter 4, verses 13-15, "Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, If the Lord wills we shall live and also do this or that." Chuck Swindoll this morning at Stonebriar underscored James' perspective of presumption by pointing out how this man selected a location, chose his activities, and assumed he would make a profit, yet in a few words is reminded "you do not know what comes with tomorrow." Note how James does not say next week or next year, but selects the closest day. We do not know what tomorrow holds. With anyone, tomorrow may mean a setback in health, a relative chooses drugs, a member of the family falls in love, a grad student is accepted to med school, a transfer to North Dakota. The essence of James' exhortation and Pastor Swindoll's explanation is that instead of planning like you've got it all wired, there is a will that we need to respect. That is found in the verse, "...you ought to say, If the Lord wills we shall live and also do this or that." This will be a helpful antidote to those of us who live presumptuously.