May 15
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LIFE IS LIKE A VAPOR
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin.
– James 4:13-17
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In this letter, James reminds the believers how momentary our lives are. There is no reason to boast about today or tomorrow. Anything we are doing has no guarantees, so we should never boast. Our lives depend on God alone. We can be here now and tomorrow gone without a warning. James likens our lives to a vapor. It appears for a little while and then vanishes away the next moment.
In verse 15, James brings about a valid point in connection with our lives just like being a mist. He wants to emphasize the importance of looking up to God and depending on him for all things. He wants them to focus on God’s will because that is what’s important. He says it is pointless to be dependent on plans, your work, your family or your possessions. We do not know when we are going to be taken away, so what’s the point?
James is actually quoting an Old Testament verse from Ecclesiastes 1:2-4 that says Life is fleeting, like a passing mist. It is like trying to catch hold of a breath; All vanishes like a vapor; everything is a great vanity. 3 What good does it do anyone to work so hard again and again, sun up to sundown? All his labor to gain but a little? 4 One generation comes, another goes; but the earth continues to remain.
In verse 16, James warns us about boasting. He says it comes from the evil one. It is arrogance to boast, so he admonishes them not to do so. In verse 17, James gives a great caution about the right thing to do. He says that if someone knows the right thing to do and they don’t do it, for that person, it is sin. Isn’t this a very wise advice? When we fail to do what is right and we know it, we are wrong. It is the Holy Spirit who guides us to do right and when we don’t do it, we are going to eventually sin.
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REFLECTION
• Why is it important for us not to fail to do the right thing when we know it?