Stumble or Fall?

I read something this morning I want to share with you.

"Bernard of Clairvaux, a twelfth-century Cistercian reformer, wrote, "The first step of pride is curiosity. How does it show itself? Here is an example. There stands a monk who up to this time had every appearance of being an excellent monk. Now you begin to notice that wherever he is, standing, walking, or sitting, his eyes are wandering, his glance darts right and left, his ears are cocked. Some change has taken place in him; every movement shows it. These symptoms show that a monastic's soul has caught some disease. One who used to watch over his own conduct now is all watchfulness for others." ~Book of Common Prayer

Ouch. How many of us justify gossip under the ruse of curiosity. I know I am guilty of this. God has been speaking to me lately regarding my judgment of others. Not only my judgment, but in how I speak about their actions or decisions they have made. Reading the above text this morning convicted me of my pride. As the old saying says: "Pride comes before a fall." If there is anything I DON'T want, it's to fall. Will I stumble? Most likely. But there is a difference in a stumble and a fall.

A stumble is a misstep. A stumble causes you to reflect on yourself and check your balance so you can walk more confidently. Usually when you stumble, you are the only one that even notices your mistake. However, if you fall, everyone takes notice. Satan likes to manipulate our stumbles to make it appear we have fallen. He likes to convince us our stumbles have removed us from the grace of God. He also wants you to be so prideful that you compare yourselves to others and think, "Well, at least I'm not as bad as ____________(you fill in the blank)."


""We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check." James 3:2


Scripture tells us we WILL stumble. I don't know anybody walking the earth today that is never at fault in anything they say. There was only one person who had the ability to be perfect, and that was Jesus Christ. The last time I checked, none of us qualify for that title.

How is your balance today? Are you steady? Perhaps a bit wobbly? Maybe you have stumbled and are at the crossroads of deciding to either correct your balance or lean into the stumble and turn it into a fall. I would encourage you to reach out to the shoulder of Christ and allow Him to hold you up. Will you listen to the voice of satan who tells you there's no way to correct your misstep? Or will you focus on the hand Jesus is extending to you to catch your stumble and help place you back in a position to not only walk, but run the race He has set before you?