The Christian Online Magazine -
"When I graduate from high school, I'm going to attend college and major in Microbiology."
"When I graduate from college, I'm going to buy a home, get married, and have two children."
"This year my husband and I are going to move our business down South where the temperatures are milder."
"In five years my wife and I will retire, buy a travel trailer, and go and see the sites."
What is wrong with the above conversations?
In planning for the future, each situation totally left God out of the picture. They each disregarded the frailty, shortness, and uncertainty of life. Therefore, they exemplify vanity and presumptuous confidence regarding a future that man has no control over. This is nothing but Practical Atheism, and unfortunately, it is practiced by many today, including Christians.
James 4:13-14 - In His Epistle, the Apostle James addressed Practical Atheism in his day - "Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain. Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow..."
"Go to now" - This was a phrase - an old way of speaking - designed to arrest someone's attention.
"Ye that say" - Actually, this was referring to the thoughts formulating in people's minds. They were forming plans that stretched far into the future.
"Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city" - This is better understood as "today and tomorrow." Without any proper sense of the finiteness of human beings, the uncertainty of life, or any dependence on God Who alone knows the future, they made their plans.
"And continue there a year" - With absolutely no reference to the Will of God in the matter, they presumed on a definite time in which they would remain and when they would leave.
"And buy and sell and get gain" - The Apostle James was addressing the Jewish merchants of his day who were engaged in foreign traffic. For this purpose they made long trips to distant trading cities like Alexandria, Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, etc. They would trade from city to city, carrying their goods on the back of camels. They remained in one city until they disposed of all of their goods. Then they purchased new items for a distant market. Oftentimes, they were gone from their homes for an entire year, driven by the intense passion to make a profit.
"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow" - These merchants totally disregarded one concept of which man has no control or a say in the matter. That concept is "tomorrow."
In Proverbs 27:1 King Solomon admonished us to - "Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."
We are not to glory in a "tomorrow" that may never come. We are not to presume upon a future date. We must not promise ourselves a time to come, but always and evermore submit ourselves to the Will of God for the moment. Only God knows what the next day may bring forth for each one of us.
Psalm 31:15 implies that - Our times are in His hands.
In a split-second, our lives could be drastically changed by the circumstances of life. We know not what the beginning of each day will bring with it, nor how the day will close. We are in the dark concerning our future in order to teach us the uncertainty and frailty of our lives and also to instill in us the awareness of our great need for God in each passing moment.
What about the rich man whom Jesus referred to in Luke 12:16-20? He totally disregarded God in his plans. He presumed upon a long-lasting future which he never saw. Resultantly, God called him a "fool" -
"And He spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?"
Is it wrong to make future plans?
No, it is good and necessary to plan ahead. However, it is Sin for any man - Christian or sinner - to form plans stretching into the future without God's guidance and permission. God happens to be interested in all that we say and do. He is highly displeased when we leave Him out of the picture of our lives, especially since we confess Him to be Lord of all.
If we leave God out of our plans, then He will have no other choice than to leave us out of His Plans. This can only lead to great misery and woe.
Proverbs 3:6 - It is time that we acknowledge God in all our ways.
It is time that we teach our children to do so as well.
He promises that He, in turn, will direct our paths.
Let us never forget - God knows the future. We don't!
Tomorrow is not promised to any man. Don't presume that it is!
Copyright 2002 by Connie Giordano
