Today’s passage deals with two
seemingly separate topics: judging other believers and boasting about your
plans. Although at first they appear rather disparate, they’re joined by a
common theme which we’ll get to momentarily.
The first subject is slandering/judging
other believers. Once again, MacArthur says it so much better than I ever could
(of course, there might be a reason why people pay money for his books, and
thousands of people listen to his sermons every week, while I’m just posting on
a free blog): “This [refers] to slander or defame. James does not forbid
confronting those in sin, which is elsewhere commanded in Scripture (Mt
18:15-17; Ac 20:31; 1Co 4:14; Col 1:28; Tit 1:13; 2:15; 3:10). Rather, he
condemns careless, derogatory, critical, slanderous accusations against others.”
But what’s the difference between legitimate confrontation and judgmental slandering?
Well, besides what MacArthur just said about careless accusations vs. being careful to get the entire story,
there’s one major difference, which we’ll get to in a moment.
The other subject is boasting about
your plans. James envisions a businessman telling his partners about what they’ll
do soon over the next year. Now, is it wrong to make business plans? Of course
not. I see a parallel here between these planners and the builders of the Tower
of Babel. Is building a tower wrong in and of itself? Again, of course not.
But if you look at the Genesis passage I just cited, you might find a clue to
the problem. Listen to what the Babel builders planned: “Come, let us
build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we
may make a name for ourselves.” What was the emphasis?
The clue to the problem, like
Sherlock Holmes’s infamous dog
that didn’t bark, is not what’s there, but what’s missing.
What’s wrong in all these cases is a
prideful failure to take God into consideration.
Take the first
case, that of the judgmental slanderer. What’s he missing? Well, he’s missing some of the facts. And since we’re not
God, we’re always missing some of the
facts. We might’ve misinterpreted something we saw or heard. And we don’t know anyone’s
heart except our own, and even that’s
“iffy.” But even if we were correct about the relevant facts, when I’m carelessly
gossiping about what I think someone is doing, I’m setting myself up as their
Accuser and Judge. I’m even setting myself up above the Law itself, which tells
me to love my neighbor, to be kind
and compassionate towards him, and to avoid
judging him. I love the sheer bluntness of verse 12: “There is only one
Lawgiver and Judge,” and guess what? That’s not me.
Same thing with the business
planners of vss. 13-17. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with making plans.
Proverbs (a book which heavily influenced this one) extols making plans,
even plans for the express purpose of making
a profit, especially in consultation
with others. But Proverbs also tells
us—in its most famous verses—that we need to trust the Lord with all our heart
and not lean on our own understanding, that we need to acknowledge him in everything we do, so that he’ll make
our paths straight.
That’s the problem with the
planners. They’re planning without taking God into account at all. Please
don’t misunderstand this. “God willing. . .” isn’t some magical formula that we
need to say in front of all our plans, some rote phrase like the Christian
equivalent of Insha'Allah, which Muslims say all the
time whether they mean it or not. The exact verbiage might or might not be
there, but the thought behind it should be in the forefront of our minds at all
times. We need to consciously submit any important plans to him, and we should
ask him throughout our day to guide us in the way he wants us to go.
Because, really, what am I? I know
from the eternal perspective I’m going to live forever, but as far this world’s
plans are concerned, I’m a morning mist that’s here one moment and gone the
next. 70, 80, maybe 90 years, or even a hundred? What’s that?
What’s exactly the point of verse
17? Of course, it’s a great general statement of how our perspective on sin
needs to change. We tend to think of sins as actions that we take, such as
murder or theft or adultery or lying. They are. But there are sins of omission as well as commission. The planners cited here didn’t think they were doing
anything wrong. They were just making business plans! People do that every day.
But we need to remember that when we don’t acknowledge the Almighty in our
plans (either verbally or non-verbally), when we don’t consciously submit to
him, when we don’t commit to doing things his way, that’s sin.
When I’m talking about a brother in
Christ, or when I’m making plans either big or small, I need to keep my Lord in
consideration. Otherwise, I’m setting myself up for a world of hurt. I don’t
want that, do you?
Lord Jesus, please change my
perspective. I’m not anyone’s Lawgiver or Judge. That’s you. All of my plans,
all of my hopes, dreams, fears, and desires I lay at your feet, my King, to do
with as you will. You’re certainly going to do better with them than I ever
could.
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