By Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. — James 4:13–14

We should have some affection to the enjoyments of this world; otherwise they would cease to be enjoyments. If we have no degree of rejoicing in them, we cannot be thankful for them. We may take delight in earthly friends and other earthly enjoyments. But by setting our hearts on these things—by fixing our minds on them so much that we cannot well enjoy ourselves without them—we show that we have our dependence on another day.

If men are proud of their worldly circumstances, it shows that they have a dependence on tomorrow; for no man would think it worth his while to vaunt himself in that which is to be depended on only for a day. Though a man has a great estate today, he will not be puffed up with it, unless he depends on having it tomorrow.

A person will not be proud of his fine clothes if he understands that he may be stripped by death and wrapped in a burial sheet tomorrow—to be carried to the grave, there to rot, and be covered and filled with worms.

When men envy others’ worldly enjoyments, their wealth, their worldly ease, or their titles and high places—their sensual pleasures, or any of their worldly circumstances—it shows that they set their hearts on the things of the world. So when they contend about worldly possessions and enjoyments, (as almost all the contentions that are in the world are about these things,) it shows that they have dependence on tomorrow.

Those who are secure in their sins are generally so because they boast themselves of tomorrow. They depend on future opportunity—they flatter themselves with hopes of living long in the world—they depend on the fulfillment of their good intentions as to what they will do at a more convenient season.

Would not your behavior be very different from what it is now if you every day lived and acted without any dependence on seeing one day more? God has concealed from us the day of our death, without doubt, partly for this end, that we might be excited to be always ready, and might live as those that are always waiting for the coming of their Lord.

*Abridged and language updated from Procrastination: The Sin And Folly of Depending on Future Time by Jonathan Edwards.

Today’s Reading
Isaiah 10:5-34 (Listen – 5:14)
James 4 (Listen – 2:25)

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. — James 3.16

I have friends who have mentioned that they have selected a “life verse”—a single passage upon which they regularly reflect and meditate. Though I’ve never chosen one personally, I’m convinced Philippians 2.3-4 would be most helpful: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit…”—primarily because it exposes the de facto motivations of my heart.

Selfish ambition desires something for the glory of self—regardless of what’s left in the wake. Vain conceit desires something for the shame of others—proving wrong the doubters of the past. These two motivations foment in the human heart. Together they effectively erode any root system of emotional security and bear only the fruit of pride and jealousy.

James, in warning Christians against such things, calls them what they are—the wellspring of every vile practice. In examining James’ warnings about jealousy and selfish ambition, pastor and theologian Paul Cedar observes,

The Greek word for ‘bitter,’ pikros, is the same word James uses to describe the bitter water which comes from the spring [of the jealous heart]. The word denotes a sharp, pungent characteristic.

The most graphic translation of the word self-seeking would be ‘faction’ or those involved in ‘party split.’ This is the expression of mankind’s sinful nature which is preoccupied with the indulgence of wanting our own way—doing our own thing. It creates the ‘we-they’ syndrome with which we are all so familiar. It is selfish ambition at its worst.

“Vile” seems like a strong choice of words, until we trace out the full effects of these actions. Writ large, it is Bashar Al-Asad, who in 2010—a year before triggering the largest humanitarian crisis since the Nazis—ominously told Seymour Hersh, “You start with the land; you do not start with peace.” Writ small, it is Donald Trump who, in January, confessed:  “I’m very greedy. I’m a greedy person. I shouldn’t tell you that, I’m a greedy–I’ve always been greedy.”

But it is written on all our hearts. The contrast Scripture offers isn’t, be less jealous and selfish. Instead, James extends an invitation by presenting the beauty of godly wisdom:

Wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

Scripture proclaims that the answer for our pride and brokenness is found in the character of Jesus. Where our disquieted hearts churn, Christ has not only sown peace but invited us to partake in the fruit of his harvest.

Today’s Reading
Isaiah 9:8-10:4 (Listen – 8:50)
James 3 (Listen – 2:38)

You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. — James 2.24

“Faith apart from works is dead,” James quips. The assertion flies in the face of Paul’s theology: “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” The book of James isn’t the only place where this is true; Galatians implores Christians to, “not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap” and Philippians, perhaps more directly, calls the faithful to, “work out your own salvation.”

Theologians offer simple, nearly tweet-able, answers like, “We are not saved by deeds; we are saved for deeds; these are the twin truths of the Christian life. And Paul’s whole emphasis is on the first truth, and James’s whole emphasis is on the second truth.” In some ways this is true, but it is also insufficient.

James’ language, “justified by works and not by faith,” is abrasive in our current theological climate—and pushes us beyond the conversation of saved by and for. Part of the problem may be what comes to mind when we, modern Christians, talk about the idea of salvation. Joseph Dillow—whose three-volume series, Final Destiny, explores over 2,000 passages of Scripture in regards to salvation and works—explains:

It would be difficult to find a concept which is richer and more varied in meaning than the biblical concept of salvation. The breadth of salvation is so sweeping and its intended aim so magnificent that in many contexts the words used defy precise definition.

Yet these difficulties have not thwarted numerous interpreters from assuming, often without any contextual justification, that the words used invariably mean ‘deliverance from hell’ or ‘go to heaven when you die.’ It may come as a surprise to many that this usage of ‘salvation’ would have been the least likely meaning to come to the mind of a reader of the Bible in the first century.

Indeed, in 812 usages of the various Hebrew words translated ‘to save’ or ‘salvation’ in the Old Testament, only 58 (7.1 percent) refer to eternal salvation.

James and Paul aren’t bickering about faith and works—they are trying to draw our attention to the greater scope of what faith and salvation mean both now and for eternity. Dillow’s conclusion is heard best in the modern world—where nearly everything we come in contact with must have a value proposition—“when believers do not animate their faith with works, James does not say their faith is nonexistent; he says it is useless.”

Today’s Reading
Isaiah 8:1-9:7 (Listen – 7:02)
James 2 (Listen – 3:26)