Does Anyone Not Stumble in Word?

At least quarterly at work, if not more often, I'm reminded of what James says in chapter 3, verses 1-12. Although long, it's God's word and worthy of sharing:

"My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

"See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the see, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh."

Not that I only think about this quarterly, but my sin nature becomes more exposed and my awareness of myself as a sinner is heightened. As an editor, my job is to proofread other people's writing and make sure there is no mistakes in it (grammatical or otherwise). When I think I'm all done (i.e. there's nothing wrong with it), I send it back to the writer, they approve it, we enter the material into our proprietary software, and then we sell the product to the customer. After all the material is in our software, and typically after at least some customers have purchased the product, we read through everything aloud (we call this the clean read, or CR). The latest project we are working on has 208 questions; we typically have between 165 and 300 items per project, and we have been releasing products quarterly or so.

Two other editors work at my company, and we typically do the CRs as pairs, alternating reading every 5 items. Everything is right there on the computer screen in front of me, and all I have to do is read the words on the page, words that I've seen at least once, maybe up to three or four times depending on how many times we go back and forth with the writers. And yet I cannot read it without stumbling. Whether I speak slowly or quickly, I still make errors, including adding words that shouldn't be there, skewing words, letting myself skim a couple lines down and then losing my place, and more.

These errors make me even more aware of what I say when I talk, especially when I talk to friends and coworkers who are not Christians. I am Christ's ambassador, here to tell others about the ultimate sacrifice that He paid so that we can live:

• He died on the cross because He loves us.
• He rose again to show that He has the power over life and death.
• He wants to forgive our sins so that we can live forever with Him.
• We will live forever no matter what, but we can choose to live to glorify Him forever or to suffer in hell, separated from our very Creator for eternity.

In light of that, I know that my mouth (and my actions) is the catalyst to those who are lost and are unaware of or unwilling to accept His gift. Matthew 12:34 reminds me of this: "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I [Jesus] say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

I thank the Lord that He has given me His Spirit to make this evident to me. Evidence, however, is not the end result; action is. That means, for me at least, remaining aware of how sinful I am and how much I need a Savior/friend/forgiver/Father/helper, asking Him to help me control my tongue (and my thoughts, as we saw in Matthew), and then using my tongue to not only bless God but to bless men, who have been made in His likeness.

God, please take control of my life, my thoughts, my words, my deeds, my everything. I am in no wise perfect, nor can I ever be; Your Son is the the only perfect one. Yet You tell me to be perfect as you are perfect and sent Jesus to meet this standard for me. Thank You for loving me, and I pray that it not be for naught. Thank You for loving Your Son enough to send Him to pay the penalty for my sins. Give me the courage to share this love with everyone I know; I want it to bubble up out of me!

Hay una fuente en mi
Que está brotando
Que está fluyendo
Dentro de mi

Hay una fuente en mi
Que está brotando
Que está fluyendo
Dentro de mi

Es un río de alabanza
Y de adoración
Dirigio ante Ti, Señor Jesús
Recíbelo

There is a fountain in me
That is bubbling up
That is flowing
Inside me

There is a fountain in me
That is bubbling up
That is flowing
Inside me

It's a river of praise
And adoration
Flowing toward You, Lord Jesus
Receive it!