Our Human Arrogance

James 4:13-17

Several years ago, I stopped to look at a truck that was for sale. The salesman insisted I should buy the truck, going out of his way to try to get financing for me. My repeated protestations that I didn’t want to go into debt for it were viewed as some what silly. After all, as he pointed out, I had a good stable job, and my income was sure to go up. More debt would be no problem.

Our current economic situation is the direct result of that reasoning. We know that our income will grow enough to enable us to make the payments. That is pretty arrogant. The people on their way to work in the World Trade Center on 9-11 had no way of knowing that their place of employment would be destroyed before the day was over, and that 2000 of them would be dead, and that many of their employers would go out of business as a result. The employee who took out a loan the week before would be unable to make his payments and lose his home as a result.

Just before the current crisis, people took out mortgages, and borrowed money for cars on the same assumption. Less than a year later, people from our church lost the home they’d bought, and their entire down payment, because the company the husband had worked for laid off the entire crew. The belief that it couldn’t happen to them cost them almost everything.

We have no control over most of the things around us, but God does. To ignore his control and assume we can make it go our way is pretty arrogant. It is even more arrogant to knowingly do what experience indicates will produce results different than what is desired, insisting that this time it will produce the ones we want, yet governments, businesses, and individuals regularly do so. James warns about the attitude.

“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. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4;13-14)

Luke 12:25 points out that we can’t even control our own physical size, and asks why we bother to try to control more important things. “And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?” What gives us the idea we can control other people, the weather, our health, or the economy?

The Bible definitely teaches setting goals, but we need to recognize God’s authority in setting those goals. When we fail to recognize his authority over our actions, we imply that we are not dependent on him. We need to understand that as Acts 17:28 says, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being.” Our very existence, our abilities, and our life is totally dependent on him. Our prideful statements about what we are going to do are evil.

“For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:15-17)

We ought to acknowledge God’s actions in setting our goals, by saying if God allows, I’ll live and accomplish these things. The attitude advocated by most positive thinking advocates is evil because it doesn’t acknowledge God. When we deliberately refuse to do what we know is right, deliberately sin, which is often called iniquity, we deserve more severe judgment, according to Luke 12:47-48. “And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."

Take the time to acknowledge him in your plans.