James 4:13-16
“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and make a profit.” Whereas you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live, and do this or that.” But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil.”
The letter of James, written likely to Jewish Christians scattered outside of Palestine in the mid-1st century CE, addresses practical ethics. Here, James critiques overconfident human planning, reminding his readers of the fragility of life and the ultimate sovereignty of God.
How does acknowledging life's uncertainty shape your approach to making future plans?