12 May Recap | James | Presumption

Presumptuousness is rarely thought of as a sinful aspect of a person’s character, let alone one that is especially severe. However, James turns our attention to this sin and exposes it for its wickedness as a fundamental misunderstanding of one’s relationship to the Creator.

James has a definite audience in mind as he begins his argument. These are people that are not just planning for the future, but also presuming to know what will happen in it. They boast of their successes before they have even become a reality. They seem to have a unique control over the world in front of them.

The similarity of  James’s original audience to the modern American church is uncanny. As we grow up, we are steeped in the idea that we are entitled to what we want and that we may design a future for ourselves simply by the work of our own hands. We plot out our plans to earn accolades, to store up in excess, and to become great in our eyes and the eyes of those around us. The world is our oyster. What could keep us from getting our hands on the pearl within?<

Yet James likens our lives to the morning fog, a vapor, which only remains for a fraction of each day. What happens when we consider the great brevity of our lives in this way? It is somewhat frightening and brings a sense of urgency to the everyday. But it is also humbling as we consider the vastness and the vast eternal nature of the Creator. James is leading us to a right understanding of the Creator-creation relationship. We are the fog, and God is the sun to which the fog inevitably yields.

The error of presumption is not in planning for the future, but rather in failing to take God into account in our plans. When we do so, we display our arrogance in thinking that we have the autonomy to shape our lives free of His will, and we show our ignorance in thinking that we know what will happen in the future.

Presumption can be traced all the way back to the immediate post-fall world in Genesis 4 when Cain only thought of himself while giving sacrifices to God. Because He knew the motivations of Cain’s heart, God refused to accept his sacrifices.

In Deuteronomy 8, God warns the nation of Israel as they are about to enter the Promised Land: “Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God…Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8:11, 14). Israel ultimately forgot about the Lord in their wealth and suffered His judgment: “I will tear out your heart. I will devour you like a hungry lioness and mangle you like a wild animal.” (Hosea 13:7-8). Israel’s presumption was a serious, serious sin – do we consider our own presumption in the same way?

The truth is that any success we have only happens due to the sovereign hand of God. As it is said in the Heidelberg Catechism, “all things come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.” This is the truth that we must acknowledge in our planning, remember in our prosperity, and trust in our poverty. James means for us to continue to plan wisely for the future. But in our planning, we are called to humble dependence upon the only One who can make them happen.

Application

• Are you planning without God in mind as if you are in control? God gives favor to the humble but is against the proud. Are you acknowledging Him?
• What benefit is it to accept God’s providential control over your life? What happens to you when you accept that God is control instead of you?
• If life is a vapor, we have a brief moment in time – are you wasting your vapor?
• This week challenge yourself to memorize and pray through Psalm 19:13 in order to guard against presumption in your life.

-Brian Barbee

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Worship Songs from the Weekend

• Our Great God : 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, Deuteronomy 31:8, Psalm 118:5-16
• The Name of Jesus Christ: Philippians 2:6-11, Isaiah 45:22-23
• This Is Our God: 2 Corinthians 12:9, Titus 3:5, Psalm 48:14
• Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing: Ephesians 2:7-8, 1 Peter 2:9-10, Colossians 1:21-22, 1 Corinthians 1:22
• God You Are My God: Zechariah 14:9, Isaiah 2:2, 1 Peter 1:18-20
• O God of Our Salvation: 1 Chronicles 16:29