Faith Looks Forward

In western culture, being a person with a plan is a virtue. It demonstrates organization, ambition and confidence. So it might be surprising that on the surface James seems to rebuke those in his audience who have made plans! But we quickly discover that it's not the making of plans that James challenges, rather it's a call to remember that we "are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes"; it's a caution that while we can make plans, we aren't really in control and so our confidence and grounding should never be in anything but Christ.