Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow; you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.
Proverbs 27:1 MSG
A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.
Proverbs 27:12 MSG
What are we to do with apparent contradictions in the Bible? On the one hand this chapter warns us not to make plans, yet a couple of verses down, we're called wise if we look ahead and take evasive (preparatory) measures. What's a person to do?
The New Testament contains the same comparison. Jesus talked about the wise man who builds his well-planned house upon the rock (Mt. 7:24-27 and Lk. 6:47-49), yet the epistle of James warns about boasting about tomorrow (James 4:13-16).
I think the key to understanding this is found in our attitude towards the future. There's a huge difference between preparation and planning, and boastfully or brashly announcing that you've got everything under control. The truth is that we never know what a day may bring, and our confidence needs not to be on our own cleverness, but rather on God's faithfulness to care and provide for us. This doesn't mean that we go through life with a fatalistic sense of planning - a laissez-faire attitude of que sera, sera - but rather that we learn to commit our plans to the Lord, understanding that he will direct our paths (Prov. 3:5-6; and 16:1, 3). It's the balance between preparing and using our head, while affirming that we are not in control of all things and that our ultimate need is to trust in God; for He is God, and we are not.
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