Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary James 4:14

"whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." — James 4:14 (ASV)

No allowance is made for unforeseen circumstances. These businessmen are confident that they will be able to carry their plans through to completion. Thus James points out their fallacy. They “do not even know what will happen tomorrow,” to say nothing about a year from now. They have been planning as if they know exactly what the future holds or even as if they can control the future. Not only is their knowledge limited, but their lives are uncertain. To point up the transitory nature of life, James employs another illustration from nature—“You are a mist.” In the morning it covers the countryside; before noon it is gone. But some of James’s readers had been planning as if they were going to be here forever!