What Does The Bible Say?
Question- Does The Bible Encourage People To Plan Ahead, Or Should We Just Live One Day At A Time?
Answer- The Bible actually tells us to blend these two ideas.
First of all, let me stress that the greatest future plan we can make is to go to heaven and direct every decision to that ultimate end. If you have not made those plans, we are ready to help you in this process. God loves you and wants you to live with Him forever, but you must let His word break your heart and humble you into submission to everything He says. If you love Jesus, you will keep His commandments.
Notice what the Bible says about planning ahead: Prov. 21:5 - “the plans of the diligent lead certainly to abundance…” Proverbs 6:9- “the heart of a man plans his ways, but the Lord establishes his steps.” (This means make sure your planning is in accordance with God’s will). In Luke 14:28, Jesus asks, “who builds a tower without first counting the cost to see if he has enough to finish it? “(This shows the use of wisdom in planning. In Proverbs 31, where Lemuel describes the virtuous woman, he says she works hard and manages her resources well. Notice what the Bible says about living one day at a time (without worry and anxiety). Matthew 6:34- “therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself, each day has troubles enough of its own” (here Jesus commands that we do not fret over something that may not come). In Exodus 16, God provided daily manna for Israel, teaching them to rely on Him for their daily needs. Psalm 118:24- “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” This passage teaches us to enjoy what we have each day, rejoice, and not let plans for the future keep us from enjoying the present. We must remember that we do not know when time will be no more for us. James 4:13-14- This passage warns against presumptuous planning and reminds us that we cannot know what each day will bring or whether we will even have another day. The Bible abounds in speaking by example and precept to us about the value of planning ahead (certainly most importantly for the destiny of our souls). Have you made plans to be with God in heaven? All of us say we would like to go there when we die. I have never met someone who seriously says, “I am planning to go to hell.” I hope that if there are such people, they will come to their senses before it is too late. Joseph made plans for the future when he had Egypt store up grain for a future famine in Genesis 41. God even uses the example of an ant to talk to us about this in Proverbs 6:6-8. Here we see that an event knows the value of having a backup plan in case things do not go as expected. The parable of the 10 virgins also teaches us that we should direct our plans in view of the uncertainties of life. The fact is that life does not always go as we think it should.
Finally, in Luke 12:20, Jesus teaches the parable of the Rich fool to direct us not to be greedy and consumed with this world’s riches and the value of “laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where true riches exist.” Any planning that does not keep in mind first that life is not promised to us if it is futile and unsound. We should never be so busy planning and laying up for the future that we ignore the present. Godly wisdom encourages shrewd planning for the future, but it also stresses the uncertainty of the future. Many people live miserly, pitiful lives, always planning for the day when they do this or that. Sadly, many die or the one they planned to spend that time and event with passes on, and there someone sits with a pile of money and no one to enjoy it with. To these we would say with scriptural hacking, “Carpe diem” or “seize the day. Enjoy the life God has given you under the sun, and learn to rejoice in the life you have, not fret over what you do not have yet. Have a great 2026. ---Stan Adams---Please direct all comments and questions to What Please address all questions and comments to What Does the Bible Say> C/O Maple St. Church of Christ, PO Box 3086, Liberty, TX 77575, and visit our website, maplestreetliberty.org.