Who Died and Made You Boss?

English

who died and made you God?

James 4:13-17

There are few things in our human relationships that are more dehumanizing than being ignored. Few things that drain you more than being in a setting and it's as if you are not there at all. This is particularly true when the one who is ignoring you is a person you love.
Let me illustrate what I mean: When I was a university president, I was invited to go to our gym to meet with a group of our minority students. We had just walked though some difficult times together so we had begun to learn to trust one another. At that time, the student body was mostly white and from suburban or rural communities while the students of color were mostly athletes. Of the many things the students told me that day, one was that it was hard to be in a place in which they felt like they were always avoided. One articulate football player said, "Mr. President, It's hard to express how hard it is to be on a campus when people don't even seem to see we're here except to avoid us as monsters. It's as if we aren't even human!"
Knowing that this is Mothers' Day weekend, I've spoken with a lot of Moms about this and I've been told one thing again and again, i.e., "One of the hardest things about being a mother is when we feel like we're investing our lives in our children and they hardly notice anything we do." So, I say to all of us here who still have mothers who are alive and whose mothers have sought to do their best, please tell them this weekend how much they mean to you – and do something loving for them too!!
This point brings us directly into a very personal part of God's Word today, James 4:13-17. Most of us who are in church this weekend believe that there is a God and that God is present with us. Speaking to people who claim to be Christians, Pastor James argues that it is a very serious think to say we believe in God and then to live as if he isn't real at all. As we continue in our series, "Examining Our Ways", I want us to examine whether our relationship with God actually is a factor that transforms the way we live.

#1. What the Problem Is – Living life without any reference to God.
Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will... (4:13)."
Two things must be cleared up here immediately about what James is NOT talking about:
1. This passage is not a criticism of private enterprise as a system. James was not a first century socialist or communist complaining about the capitalist system. All business in James' day, indeed all business in both the NT and OT eras, was private business. In fact, it was almost always family-owned business. So engaging in business was not the problem.
2. This passage is not against planning for the future. In many places in the Bible, especially the book of Proverbs, we are directed to make plans. God has given us the ability to do that. What Pastor James is saying that the way most people tend to make plans is an offense to God.
Most American Bible commentaries write about this text as if it is only about money and doing business. But, look again. Even though James speaks of doing business, what he says can be applied to almost any decision we might make. He could just as easily have said, "Now listen, you who say, 'I'm going to graduate from high school next month, then I'm going to go to the university and then...'" You see it don't you? James is speaking about living life as if there is no God. He's writing about treating God as if he doesn't exist – as if he isn't here. James is writing about our tendency to put ourselves into the place of God in the practical ways we live our lives. That's why I've called the message, "Who died and made you God?"
What this passage addresses is failing to connect our lives with our professed relationship to God in such a way that God actually changes things about our daily living. It's worshiping God on Sunday and living as if there is no God on Monday through Saturday.
The Old Testament speaks of this problem as "forgetting God." When we do that, we act as if we and we alone are the lords of our lives. We live without any connection to God. One of the places this becomes so clear is in Jeremiah 2:32 -- Does a young woman forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number. I've done a lot of weddings and I've never had a bride show up in dirt-covered jeans saying, "Oh, I forgot I should dress up!" I've never seen a bride even forget her make-up! Why? Because this day and, especially, the groom, are important to her.
You and I remember what's important to us! It is terrible to be ignored. Christians believe that God is "Immanuel." He is always with us. When we live without reference to him, it's like a slap in his face.

#2. Why the Problem is So Serious – It breaks the 1st command and affects all of life.
You boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil (4:16).
In v. 16, James speaks strongly about this kind of life as being proud and evil. You may think, "Why is this such a big deal. It's not murder. Not stealing. Not adultery. Why does the Bible make such a big deal about this?" But, I think you might be able to grasp this point quickly. Just think of how you feel when you are in a place where everyone is ignoring you. On this Mother's Day, think of those times when your children or your husband ignore you.
When the Old Testament consistently calls you to "remember your Creator" and warns you about forgetting God, what really is happening is that God is applying the 1st commandment to our daily living. He is telling us to put nothing into his place. That commandment is the foundation for all other commands. It's when you break this command and start living without reference to God that you will begin breaking all the others. If you have no awareness of God, when a temptation comes, you will give into it. For example:
• You will read the 4th commandment and see God commands you to work 6 days and to rest on one. You will say, "But, if I do that, I won't get ahead at school or in my business. Soon, you will find your life is filled with endless and unrelenting activity. Work or study will become your God.
• You will read the 7th commandment and see that God calls you to be sexually faithful to your spouse and you will think, "Oh, that's too hard and it won't be any fun." You will give in to the temptation unless your greatest desire is to please the God who is present in your life.
I could show you how this plays out in every moral decision in your life. Let me give you an illustration: When I lived in Chicago, I got into a tennis league and played week by week with a group of men. One day, my partner, a Chicago attorney, stopped and asked me, "Greg, what do you do for a living?" I said, "Oh, don't you know? I'm a pastor." His face turned white. I could almost see every word he had ever spoken in my presence run through his brain. He shouted out across all the four tennis courts, "Hey guys – Greg is a man of the cloth!!" They seemed as shocked as he did.
In an infinitely greater way, God is present in your life right now. He knows every thought your think and every word you speak. To ignore that reality is to treat God as if he is nothing. The greatest incentive for us to live good and moral lives is to allow everything to be shaped by our desire to please God. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." When our only fear is displeasing him, everything else will come together. When we ignore him, we will head away from him and toward pride and evil. It's serious.

#3. Why it is Good to "Remember" God -- Remembering God gives order and meaning to our lives.
You ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will... (4:15)"
This word "ought" in the Bible is an important one. "Ought" means there is a way of life that is good for us, a way of life that is far better than the way we often choose to live. And the God who made you and loves you says that the way you "ought" to live is to consciously seek his will over your own will. I know this is the opposite of the way everything in our world tells you to have a good life. Our world tells you, "Do more for yourself and you will love it." The Bible says, "No, that will mess up your life because you don't even know what tomorrow holds – or even if there will be a tomorrow." As Jesus said in Matthew 6, "Seek first God's kingdom and all that really matters will be added to you."
I could show you thousands of ways that this is true. But, let me just show you two:
Reason 1: For successful people (as we usually measure success) – Seeking God's will rescues from the Pride vs. Anxiety Syndrome.
This is a problem James is addressing in his letter. He was writing to people – probably mostly men -- who were quite successful here in their businesses. He lets us know that those who often are successful or productive in our work are particularly susceptible to one type of sin, i.e., boasting. V.16: As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. James says that when we are successful in the value-systems of the world, we tend to fall into a life of self-centered presumptuousness. We say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a week there. We'll carry on business and make profits."
In what ways is this presumptuous? It presumes on the availability of time. Today, tomorrow, booked though 2020!! God has no voice whatsoever in the planning. It presumes we have the power of ultimate choice. "We shall do this or that." It doesn't matter that Someone else may have another plan. It presumes success. "We shall make money." We think, "I've made it before and I can make it again!" This is confidence alright, confidence in our abilities to control things but it's precisely the kind of confidence in the future the Bible says is so perilous.
So, if we succeed, we say, "I did it." But, when the time comes and things go wrong, we often are filled with anxiety. We run to the pastor and say, "Pray that my business will be successful again." This way of life is never one that finds the shalom that comes from simply using our gifts as God has given them and resting in him even as we engage in the work to which he has called us. I've seen it over and over again – I've seen it among successful university presidents who, when things go well begin to believe that they could never go wrong – but then they do go wrong. I've seen it among businessmen whose business once was thriving –but now is not thriving as much as it once was. I've seen it among successful athletes who once felt invincible but begin to realize that the wonderful athletic skills won't last forever. This way of life in which we swing from pride to anxiety to pride to anxiety is not how God made us to live.
Pastor Jeff Liou pointed out to me a very different way that forgetting God plays out among other people – and, as I've asked people about this over the past week, I've discovered many Moms agree with Jeff:

Reason 2: The drivenness vs. emptiness syndrome --
One Mom (who asked to remain anonymous) told me, "Pastor Jeff is right. When I'm dealing with all the issues of my four kids, I sometimes think that I'm doing a good job, a better job than some Moms. But, then I get overwhelmed. I get frustrated. I get angry with my husband for not being present enough... My life feels so distracted. But, then when I stop, I look at all I'm doing and feel empty. So much of consumes me doesn't feel like it's very important. I swing back and forth between being frantic and being unfulfilled!"
I have no easy or pat response to this syndrome that swings between a life that feels frantic because of all you must do and emptiness because all that you are doing seems to be empty. But, I think the beginning point is finding the shalom of God is by knowing that God is present with you each moment of each day and then by asking, "Lord, at this place in my life, what is your will? What would you have me prioritize?" I find this helps me to see deep value in what the world doesn't always value. And, as Pastor Jeff told me, "Remembering God provides an organizing center for all we do and for who we are."
I'll stop there for now with this point. I want you to reflect on this and how it might apply to where you are right now in your stage of life. I am convinced that when you and I live each moment aware of God's presence, and we consciously and intentionally seek God's will, we will discover that he brings order and meaning to us both in good times and in tough times.

#4. How to go about living life remembering God – Some pastoral advice.
You ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that..." If anyone knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them (4:15,17).
I believe that living without reference to God is so pervasive in our lives that we probably aren't even aware of the fact that we ignore the Lord day by day. So, I've been considering prayerfully how I should apply this great passage of God's Word more fully to my own life first. And, I pray that you might find ways to allow it to change you moment by moment as well. I have three directives for us all:
• Live every moment with gratitude acknowledging the presence and sovereignty of God.
Notice how James puts its in v. 16, "If God wills we will live..." Isn't that an amazing statement? We only have life if the Lord wills. That means that each moment of moment of each day is a gift from God. Do you think that way?
God alone knows what will happen in the future. Our world may be out of control – but it is never out of his control. We don't know what tomorrow holds – but God does. He is our Father. And... he is at work for our good. May I show you this great and encouraging verse so much loved by God's people all over the world: We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28). Learn to count on presence and sovereignty -- and to trust him.

• Learn to ask conscientiously and intentionally, "If God wills...?"
I know that motivational speakers always say that you should tell yourself you can do anything. But, the Bible says Christians have a different approach to life. We know we can do much with our human capability but we also know we can do nothing that lasts. We acknowledge that up front. That's what brought us to Christ in the first place. We couldn't really live well on our own so we sought a Savior.
So, Jesus-followers acknowledge the gifts God has created us with while, at the same time, we acknowledge our limitations. How do we live in the light of both those truths? In the early days of our country, people who had any Puritan roots would put the letters "DV" behind any notices of meetings. It means Deo Volente, God willing. Well, we never see such letters on notices in our day, do we. James is saying that, when it is meant sincerely and non superstitiously, it would be a good thing to do that behind every decision we make and every item listed on our schedules. We should put DV above every entry in our schedules because only an omniscient and omnipotent God can make a plan that will happen without fail.
Listen to me here: This is not a call to use religious jargon all the time. John Wesley, in his Directions to Young Preachers warned that they should avoid using religious sounding jargon and to speak simple language. I'm not saying that every LAC person should always say, "I'll see you at lunch, Deo Volente." "I'll meet you at school, Deo Volente..." That would be pretentious.
What God's Word means is that you and I do not know what will happen tomorrow and, because we don't know, we ought to acknowledge God with each plan we make. So in business we Christians should and must plan to do what you do in business: purchase land, hire employees, borrow capital. God has given us the ability and the charge to do that. But we must always know that time is not under our control. Things will happen that change what you do in that time. You do not know what will happen tomorrow. A Christian is one whose life is in the hands of the one who holds tomorrow so we are never shaken when a Stock Market falls or a deal falls through. We trust Him.

• Do what you sense God leading you to do
V.17 is a very important verse – but it seems out of place, doesn't it? It is not out of place. Let me tell you my experience. When you consciously acknowledge that God is present and you do not ignore him – you intentionally say, "Lord, I want to do whatever I do in a way that honors you and shows my trust in you." When you do that, you will sense that God is prompting you to do something. If you get to be so busy and preoccupied with your own things that you don't acknowledge God's presence at all, you won't have this happen. But, when you stop in the midst of your busy life and say, "Your will be done, O God. What would you have me do?" Then you will discover that there are things you know he would have you do. James says, "When that happens, do what he prompts you to do." If you know what God would have you to do and do not do it, it is sin. That's what verse 17 says.
I have been seeking to practice this for a number of years now. I stop in the midst of a day that feels out of control and ask, "God, is something missing? Is there something YOU want me to do?" And, almost without fail, something comes to mind. I've learned to just do what I think God would have me to do.
James is saying in v.17 that a genuine Jesus-follower is not just interested in avoiding evil but in doing the good God has created us to do. How will we do what God has created us to do if we forget him – if we live and plan and decide things without seeking his will? But, let me tell you this: When you live each day of your life knowing that God is with you and seeking to obey his promptings, life comes alive. Each moment – as mundane as it may have seemed – takes on meaning.
So examine your ways! As you do, make your plans and resolutions for the future but make them remembering God is with you. Inscribe on every day of your life, every entry in your schedule from now on, D.V. If it is God's will. And you will live life to the full. You will live it to his glory.

To His glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor