C’MON MAN!
James 4:13–17
When I was growing up, I was a huge Florida State, college football fan. And during my middle school days there was a great defensive player who lined up against some of the greatest wide-receivers of his day and always outplayed them. His name was Deion Sanders (although he referred to himself as “Neon Deion”). Today you may know him by his other nickname, Prime Time. Well, the truth is, he was as good at talking as he was playing the game.
Well, he had an illustrious career in the NFL and played from Atlanta, San Francisco, and Dallas. But when his days on the field were through — he found himself on TV commentating on the game. Deion eventually developed a segment on ESPN where he would observe the games and the players, and then show highlights (or maybe lowlights) of players failing to live up to their potential on the field. And this segment was called: C’MON MAN! It was his response of disappointment that a player just hadn’t fulfilled his charge, or hadn’t played at the level to which he was capable, or maybe a player had just not given his best — and Deion would shake his head and say: C’MON MAN!
Well, today we’re going to continue our study of the Book of James. And in today’s passage (in the end of James chapter 4), James seems to be looking at the church and how many professing Christ-followers are living — and I get the feeling that James is reviewing the game tape of our lives and is just shaking his head and saying, C’MON MAN!
He says, while we may profess a faith in God, the way we are living is demonstrating a self-reliance that seems to deny God’s very existence.
This kind of living reflects what some have called a “practical atheism”. It is not that we fully embrace or even proclaim a total denial of God — but rather that we demonstrate a lack of faith in Him by our actions.
And James seems to look at that kind of faith, shake his head and say, “C’MON MAN!” And so, his challenge to us today is to whole-heartedly reject this temptation and instead, demonstrate a genuine faith in God by living totally dependent upon Him!
If you have your Bible, turn to James chapter 4 with me. We’ll begin reading in verse 13. Here James writes:
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 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. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
James 4:13-17 (NIV)
So, in this passage, James is challenging us to live at a higher level. He’s encouraging us to let God direct our lives — and to allow our proclamations (what we say we believe) to be congruent with our practices (how we live). He’s saying to make sure your ORTHODOXY aligns with your ORTHOPRAXY.
He’s saying, let your walk reflect our talk.
Because, there are great consequences to living without acknowledging God’s existence — or at least His relevance.
And to this, James says:
- IT LEAVES US TOTALLY UNPREPARED.
According to James, when we plan our days and our lives without an consulting God in prayer, it’s like living without faith. It’s as if we really don’t believe in His existence, or our need for His direction in our lives.
To make decisions about our future without giving consideration to God’s plans or even God’s care — we end up living our days unprepared for what may come. James is speaking in the context of those who are planning on how to make money, how to do business in certain areas.
To be clear, James is not against making plans. James is speaking to those of us who boast in our own plans — and never consult with God.
He’s saying that we can have all the plans in the world, to work, to build, to travel, to make money, to do whatever we want — but the fact remains that none of us knows what tomorrow will bring.
He’s reminding us that this life is fragile at best. Things can change in a moment. We’re all just one breath away from eternity. And so, to live without acknowledging God in how we live — is FOOLISH. It’s like walking blindly into the dark and hoping thinking we’ll never run into any problems.
In verse 14 James says,
14 …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.
Seems like just yesterday you were a child — and today you have one of your own. How is that possible, except life goes by so quickly.
And our days continue to speed up.
Some of you work really hard to prolong your life. You eat right, work out, walk and run consistently, you sleep well and watch out for the stress that enters your home. You do all you can to guard your life in order to prolong it.
And all of that is great — as long as you realize that death is the inevitable end for our human existence.
It was the great American poet — Dr. Seuss who once wrote,
How did it get so late so soon,
It’s night before it’s afternoon.
December is here before it’s June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?
What Seuss is saying is that this life is short — yet we spend our days as if we have an unlimited number of them.
That’s why James says, our lives are like a vapor. They are here for a little while — and then they are gone. So live well, but never overlook the brevity of our days. And while short, understand that we have no REAL control over how many days we get.
He says, your life is like the fog in the morning. Like a mist that appears for a while and then is gone.
If you want to make your moments matter — then put God first and seek Him regarding the use of them. When you plan your life without Him — you live unprepared for tomorrow or the eternity that is coming your way.
James says, there are very real consequences to living our days without acknowledging God’s presence or purpose within them. And the first, is that it leaves us unprepared for life and eternity.
Another consequences to living without acknowledging God’s existence is that:
- IT LEADS US INTO ARROGANCE!
James says in verse 16 — when we plan our days and our nights without considering God’s Will . . . it causes us to become overconfident (thinking that WE ARE IN CHARGE). He puts it this way. He says,
16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.
Any planning that you do without considering God — are nothing more than arrogant schemes.
It’s what Proverbs 27:1 means when it says,
“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”
Proverbs 27:1 (NIV)
It’s foolish to live our lives as if all of our days are under our control, because we simply have no idea what tomorrow may bring.
While we may think that we know everything, we would do well to remember the old adage, “FATHER KNOWS BEST!”
And our Heavenly Father certainly does. To believe that we stand in control all the moments and movements of our lives is arrogant.
Some people think — that certain things require us to consult with God, but that other things are left up to us. Those who believe this tend to categorize their lives into different boxes for SACRED and SECULAR.
But we need to remember that all of life is sacred. So live your days under God’s guidance — rather than your arrogance.
Someone who didn’t seem to understand this reality was the late poet William Everest Henley. Henley was a well loved poet, but he seemed to revel in his arrogance.
In one of his most famous poems — INVICTUS, (written in 1895), he writes:
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
Listen, there are many in our world who think and live like Henley — but not us. We belong to God. We have a different — and more clear perspective of our lives.
We must reject the temptation to live like PRACTICAL ATHEISTS and heed the wisdom of James 4. For if we live any other way, we live like fools. Because, while we may not know what will happen tomorrow — we can be certain that God will be with us!
So come life or death or pain or pleasure — let’s live every day putting God first. Because there is more to this life than living and dying. More to this life than planning and scheming. More to this life than fame or fortune.
And even the longest life is still but a blip in time when compared to eternity.
Life Is Short. Eternity Is Long. So let’s live Like It.
So, there are very real consequences that come our way when we live our days without acknowledging God’s presence or purpose.
— It leaves us unprepared.
— It leads us into arrogance.
And lastly, James says:
- IT CAUSES US TO MISS OUT ON GOD’S BEST!
Even if all your plans go exactly the way you want them to, and you do manage to amass a great fortune, or you have the perfect family, or you built a great company. Then what?
The result of this kind of living is that we it leads us to miss out on God’s best. And when we fail to live out what we know God wants—he says, for us . . . it is SIN!
Sin, isn’t so much what we do — as much as it is MISSING THE MARK of God’s best.
He has a plan and a purpose for us, and when we aim our lives at others TARGETS and fail to aim for the goals and purposes that he wants for us, we MISS THE MARK. We miss out on God’s best. And James simply calls this sin.
Listen again to verse 17,
17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
James 4:17 (NIV)
You see, We tend to view sin by what we do — wrong or evil actions. But James says that sometimes SIN is what we don’t do. It’s sinful for us to plan our lives WITHOUT GOD. It’s sinful for us to IGNORE GOD’S WORD and strive to find our way through this life on our own.
To reject God, and ignore His plans — in lieu of our own, it is SIN.
James indicates that this is SELFISH living. Choosing our way over God’s is never a good idea.
A perfect example of this is found in the story of Jonah. If you recall, God directed him to go to Nineveh (a pagan city) and call them to repentance. But Jonah didn’t want to do that — because he knew God was gracious and would forgive them. So, he ignored God’s plans for his life and choose to go a different way.
And as it is for you and me, Jonah missed out on God’s best!
So, James says, seek God first. Don’t reject His best. And in light of the reality that God has a purpose and plan for us to live out — we should pray the prayer of Moses prayed (as recorded in Psalm 90:12). He prayed saying,
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Psalm 90:12 (NIV)
Since life is a gift from God, it should not be wasted in riotous living. God did not make us for that purpose. God created man to serve and glorify Him
So, as James tells us — there are very real consequences to living our days without acknowledging God’s presence or purpose.
— first of all, it leaves us totally unprepared.
— secondly, It leads us into arrogance.
— and lastly, it causes us to miss out on God’s best!
So how should we live?
Well . . . James suggests that there’s a better with to live. He says:
>> ALWAYS PLAN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD’S WILL IN MIND!
There’s great comfort in the fact that no matter how your life turns out in terms of what the earth values, if you follow the Lord faithfully, you will have a life of significance.
If you’ve given your life to Jesus, follow Him with trust and follow Him with humility.
In verse 15 James says,
15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
One of the central components to every decision that we make and every plan we set ought to be that we first ask, “What is God’s will in this matter?”
If we believer Jesus is Lord of All! Then we must live like He is Lord of us! And it ought to lead us to pray:
“God, in regards to this situation — what would you have me do?”
“How should I respond?”
Bottom Line: So, the bottom line is:
Live today for the Lord —
and trust the Him with your tomorrow.
CONCLUSION:
While James may have reviewed the game tape of those of his day and found himself shaking his head — saying, C’MON MAN! It’s my prayer that you and I will live differently.
May we always be wise enough to plan — but do so only by seeking God’s Will and His direction for our lives.
And come what may, may we always trust in Him and live our FAITH FORWARD!
CLOSING PRAYER
Would you stand with me as we prepare to close in prayer?