NOTES for Jam 4:13-17
Why, indeed, should we not plan ahead? What is wrong with that? It is probably important to distinguish planning from self-confidence. It is one thing to make a plan while understanding that circumstances may change and, moreover, that what we have planned may prove displeasing to the Lord, in which case the plans will have to be adjusted. It is quite another to devise a program for half a lifetime and follow it with the determination of a bulldozer, crushing every obstacle. That will most likely end very quickly in a painful collision with harsh reality. Apostle James warns against this second path, reminding us that any undertaking will be brought to a truly successful conclusion—that is, without either material or spiritual devastation—only if it is pleasing to the Lord.