You are a Mist
Dr. James Smith
James 4:13-17
21 May 2006
On April 14, 1912, the British luxury liner, The Titanic, sailed from the port of Liverpool on its maiden voyage to New Your City.
Excitement had been brewing for weeks before, about this new technological wonder. No expense was spared in either its construction or its amenities.
Tickets quickly became difficult to obtain as the demand easily outstripped the supply. And on the day of its final departure, the Titanic was to carry 2,220 passengers.
Unfortunately, at the beginning of the 20th century, technological projects were big and the overweening pride and the penchant for great boasting by men of that time was even greater.
The Titanic was proclaimed, “unsinkable” and if you the movie a few years ago, you may remember one man’s outrageous and blasphemous declaration. “Not even God, could sink this ship!”
Well, you know the rest of the story. Just before midnight, the Titanic hit an iceberg just south of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. 5 of its 16 watertight compartments were punctured and quickly filled with cold briny sea-water.
The engineers had considered that only 4 compartments could ever be compromised in any accident. A fifth compartment was considered impossible.
It had been steaming too fast in dangerous waters and only had lifeboats and life jackets for perhaps ¾ of the passengers.
In less than 3 hours, the crown jewel of human technological innovation was sitting on the bottom of the frigid Atlantic, along with 1513 people.
The Titanic is an awful example of men and women forgetting their proper place and forgetting that human life is as James tells us . . . “a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
In this short passage in James 4:13-17, we encounter the age old problems of human bragging as well as the arrogant presumption to know and control our future apart from God.
Greco-Roman as well as Jewish moralists in the ancient world regularly condemned bragging and boasting as unwise and potentially deadly in light of the fragility and uncertainty of life.
After all, “what is your life?” If we go to Webster’s dictionary, we will find the question answered as, “the quality manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, response to stimulation and reproduction by which living organisms are distinguished from dead organisms or inanimate matter.”
Thankfully, James offers a simpler and wiser answer . . . “Your life is a mist that appears for a little while, and then vanishes.”
Another early Christian writing (1 Clement 17:6) suggests that the transitory nature of life is much like steam rising from a pot.
On first glance, James 4:13 sounds like a couple of businessmen or merchants moving to the city to make it big. But the real idea behind this verse is that of making gain or growing rich.
Such speech reveals a kind of greed or avarice in the hearts of human beings who boast and brag that somehow “the world is their oyster” . . . and not God’s.
To this, James famously offers what New Testament scholars have called the conditio Jacobaea or the “condition of James.”
. . . instead you should say, we will do such and such a thing if it is God’s will for us to do so.”
And in light of all the uncertainties of the human condition, in his own incomparable way, James reminds us of the bottom line, which is this. You and I will very soon pass from this life and find ourselves before the judgment seat of God.
And before God, there will be no room for bragging, boasting or greed.
From time to time, I save stories that are particularly funny, ridiculous or simply pathetic. Here’s one that further illustrates the spiritual issues at hand.
A lawyer and two buddies were fishing on Caddo Lake in Texas when a lightning storm hit the lake. Most of the other boats immediately headed for the shore, but oh no, not our friend the lawyer.
On the rear of his aluminum bass boat with his buddies, this individual stood up, spread his arms wide (crucifixion style) and shouted: “HERE I AM LORD, LET ME HAVE IT!”
Needless to say, God delivered. The other two passengers on the boat survived the lightning strike with minor burns.
I sure hope that that lawyer had Jesus as his lawyer or there will be no acquittal.
And to this, James counters with verses 16-17, “But now in your pretentiousness, you are boasting. Every boast of this sort is evil. Therefore, it counts as a sin for the person who understands the proper thing to do and yet does not do it.”
Yes, it counts as a sin and in some cases, such as our bass boat lawyer, it could cost you your life.
And again, James reminds us in verse 14, “What is your life like? It is like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
Because in the end, we do well to remember that our lives as Christians are not our own. Our lives belong to God through Jesus Christ. We have been given life simply on the lease program and that lease is not promised as a long term or even 12 month lease.
That lease is more like a month to month lease, which our Landlord can revoke at anytime and for any reason.
James calls us this morning to be wise and to be clear about the fragility of life and to be on excellent terms with our Landlord.
When the Titanic went down, subsequent investigations revealed that the boat was not prepared for any significant accident.
It’s designers, engineers and crew thought it unsinkable. Any many innocent people lost their lives because of pride and foolishness.
To add to the tragedy, another boat, the Californian was close by the scene, but it didn’t come to the rescue . . . why?
Because its radio operator was off duty and asleep and no one was there to take his place.
At the very least, this “titanic” tragedy led to many reforms in the shipping industry. Such as a life vest for every man, woman and child, lifeboat drills, the formation of an international ice patrol and the maintenance of a full time radio watch while at sea.
James reminds us in just 5 short verses this morning, that life is fragile and it does not do for human beings to be given to bragging, boasting and greed. Such vice will inevitably lead to physical and even spiritual disaster.
Let’s Pray
