We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
How many of you (dear readers) are never at fault in what you say? I am taking James at his word when he writes “never.” So when we say, “… never at fault…” we mean someone who is not at fault and has never been at fault.
Hmmm… I’m not seeing a show of hands.
Let’s try the other side of the coin: How many of you have been at fault in what you say at least once in your lives?
Ahhh! Now I see everyone’s hand!
James calls these faults “stumbles.” A stumble is unintentional. It is not a fault we meant to do. Even those who do not know God probably do not see themselves at fault. If they do something we consider wrong, they can rationalize a reason for it. Trapped in our own perspective it is difficult not to rationalize. Without God, we judge based on our own limited view.
James argues that if by some chance we could be perfect in what we say, we could keep the whole body in check, too. I can easily follow his reasoning. Speaking is such a natural thing for us to do it is hard to keep a check on what we are actually saying.
As we delve into the next few verses of this chapter it is helpful to remember that James is not suggesting that we have to be perfect. He is, however, going to suggest how we can reduce our average when it comes to being at fault.
Application: The first step in controlling what we say is being aware o what we say. Carry a 3 x5 card with you today and write down a hash mark each time you are less than perfect in what you say.
Food for Thought: Why do you think James chose the word “stumble” to describe our tendency to sin?
Please feel free to comment on the blog post as well as the ”Food for Thought” question.
The thing about stumbling is that it catches you by surprise. You may not see the root of a tree as you are walking and before you know it you are trying to keep from falling. Even if we are guarded we still sin. We need to be aware of our need, depend on the work of the cross, and patient when others stumble.
With stumbling you aren’t stopping you have a chance to catch yourself or even with someones helping hand you can keep walking the right path in the light. Everytime we take our eyes off our God and look at something of this world we vear off the well lit path of Jesus and we dont see that snake trying to trip us.