Read James 4:13-17

Read James 4:13-17

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them.

Reflect

No matter how responsibly or confidently we prepare for it, we still don't control the future. The seemingly predictable circumstances and realities of our lives can change in an instant. However, we do control how we live in the present and the choices we make today.

Respond

Read the last sentence of the passage again. This simple statement is actually one of the most powerful definitions of the standard we should uphold in our daily lives—even when no one else is looking. To help make this principle a priority, write it on a sticky note or the note app on your phone, and put it someplace where you can often be reminded of just how important godly integrity is.