James 4:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

NIV: Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

NASB: Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away.

CSB: Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.

NLT: How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog — it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.

KJV: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

NKJV: whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

James has spent most of this chapter warning about the wisdom of the world. This includes the attitude of success at all costs, and selfish ambition. In that context, verse 13 imagined the declaration of a businessman: "Today or tomorrow, we will…" James wants us to hear this statement in the context of his prior points. We should recognize our own arrogance in believing that we are the masters of our own fate. We want to think of ourselves as able to do whatever we put our minds to, especially if that involves gathering for ourselves money or status or comfort.

The first problem with that, James writes, is that we can't predict or control the future. We truly have no idea what will happen tomorrow. In addition to that, our lives are temporary and fragile. We are a mist that is here for a moment and then gone.

James isn't being a pessimistic downer. Nor is he denying the value of sound planning or judgment. As verse 16 shows, James is condemning these kinds of remarks in a mindset devoid of God's influence. He is asking us to understand and embrace our human limits instead of trying to shrug them off. Realizing how dependent and fragile we truly are is a major step in escaping the desperate pursuit of cash, power, and pleasure. James wants us to carry with us an awareness that our every moment, every movement, is dependent on God's grace, mercy, and will.

James 4:13–17 focuses on the arrogance of planning for our own success without acknowledging that we are dependent on God. It is foolish to ignore the fact that we can't see the future. Our lives are short and fragile. This doesn't mean never making plans. Rather, we should always make plans with the awareness that they can only succeed if God allows them to. Any other attitude is sinful, arrogant, and short-sighted.

What was causing fights and quarrels among the Christians to whom James was writing? They were living by the world's wisdom. This false perspective says human beings should do whatever it takes to get what they want in this life, even if it hurts other people. James says that to live that way is adultery, but God gives grace. Christians should repent and move close to God again. We should trust Him to provide, to be the Judge, and to lift us up in His time. In humility, we must acknowledge that all of our plans are dependent on Him, and He can change them at any moment.

The book of James is about what it means for a Christian to live a life of complete trust in God. Chapter 4 builds on the end of chapter 3, where James described the self-seeking wisdom of the world. Following this worldliness was the cause of fights among James's Christian readers. He called them to repent and, in humility, receive God's grace. He called them to stop making their plans for business as if they could accomplish anything without God. In chapter 5, he will continue to talk about the dangers of trusting riches instead of the Lord.

The book of James is about specifically understanding what saving faith looks like. How does faith in Christ reveal itself in a believer's life? What choices does real trust in God lead us to make? Those are the questions James answers. Most scholars believe the writer was Jesus' half-brother, a son born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus' birth. James may not have come to believe Jesus was the Messiah until after the resurrection. Eventually, though, he became one of the leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem. This is possibly the earliest-written of all the New Testament books, around AD 40–50. James addresses his letter to Jewish Christians scattered around the known world.