The Wisdom and Folly of Planning

‘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.’—James 4:13-14

In the Bible, planning is commended as a wise action. Yet here, we see that planning without seeking God’s wisdom is a very foolish thing. This hypothetical situation that James brings up is a very structured business plan. It describes the when (today or tomorrow), the where (that city), the how long (spend a year there), the what (carry on business), and the why (make money). It looks like wisdom to me! This is a plan that I could see myself buying into. Yet James seems to consider it foolish.

So what are we supposed to do? Are we just supposed to make it up as we go along? Do we need to even have an idea about what we are supposed to do in life? I think it is safe to say that planning in and of itself is wise. However, we have to ask ourselves, where is God in all of our planning? Are we seeking his will, or just doing what we want?

God may or may not allow you to be successful at your plans. Sometimes our plans fail so that we have to learn to rely on him. On other occasions, we simply are never content, no matter how successful we may be. God will do everything he can to get our attention without violating the free will he has given to us.

So, here’s the question: how has God ‘ruined’ your life? Are you willing to listen when his plan goes against your plan?