I’m good at stumbling. I can trip over a piece of lint. But James didn’t mean physical stumbling. Here, “stumble” means to offend, err, or make a mistake. Unfortunately, I can be pretty good at that, too. It’s so easy to speak—to bandy about our opinions and our feelings and our frustrations. At the time the words come pouring out, we probably aren’t thinking about the effect on the listener. The one who is able to stop, consider the effect, then choose whether or not to speak is the mature one. James’ instruction to not stumble in what we say covers a lot of territory. Angry words. Untrue words. Petty words. Gossipy words. Inappropriate words. Boy, there are a lot of different ways to speak, aren’t there? A person who has control of his tongue probably has control of his entire manner of living, emulating Jesus in all he says and does. It’s quite a lot to live up to, and on our own, we can’t do it. But with the Holy Spirit’s guidance and a true desire to grow in righteousness and grace, we can. Maturity…being more like Jesus…is the ultimate goal.