James 4:11-17: a reflection

11Don’t speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another? 13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.” 14Yet you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that.” 16But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil. 17To him therefore who knows to do good and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.

James closes this section with a pointed word about a sin we easily overlook: the sin of not doing the good we know we should do. To one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, he says, to him it is sin. We often think of sin as doing wrong; but James names another kind: failing to do the good we know we ought to do. Knowing what is right and not doing it is itself sin, a sin of omission, as real as any wrong we commit.

Notice the sin James names: not doing the good we know we should do. We can be aware only of the wrongs we commit, the sins of doing; and think ourselves fairly good if we avoid these. But James points to another kind of sin, easily overlooked: the good left undone, the right thing we knew to do and did not do. To know what is right and fail to do it is sin, a sin of omission. It is not only the wrong we do that is sin, but the good we fail to do.

That is a searching word, for we often overlook the sins of omission, the good we know to do and leave undone. We can avoid obvious wrongs and think ourselves fairly good, while all the while failing to do the good we know we should, the kindness we could have shown, the help we could have given, the right we knew to do and did not. But James says this too is sin. Do not think only of the wrongs you commit, congratulating yourself on avoiding them, while overlooking the good you know to do and leave undone. To know the right thing and not do it is sin. Examine not only what you have done wrong, but the good you have known to do and failed to do; the kindness left unshown, the help left ungiven, the right known and neglected. Do the good you know you should do, rather than leaving it undone; for the good we know to do and fail to do is itself sin, and God calls us not only to avoid wrong, but to do the good we know we ought.

Lord, James closes this section with a pointed word about a sin I easily overlook: to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. I often think of sin as doing wrong; but James names another kind: failing to do the good I know I ought to do. Knowing what is right and not doing it is itself sin, a sin of omission. Show me that sin, which I easily overlook. I can be aware only of the wrongs I commit, and think myself fairly good if I avoid these. But you point to another kind of sin: the good left undone, the right thing I knew to do and did not do. It is not only the wrong I do that is sin, but the good I fail to do. Let that searching word reach me. I can avoid obvious wrongs and think myself fairly good, while all the while failing to do the good I know I should, the kindness I could have shown, the help I could have given, the right I knew to do and did not. But you say this too is sin. Keep me from thinking only of the wrongs I commit, while overlooking the good I know to do and leave undone. Help me examine not only what I have done wrong, but the good I have known to do and failed to do. Help me do the good I know I should do, Lord, rather than leaving it undone; for the good I know to do and fail to do is itself sin. Help me not only avoid wrong, but do the good I ought.