Are You Walking Circumspectly?

by Mike Ratliff

21 Folly is joy to him who lacks sense,
But a man of understanding walks straight. Proverbs 15:21 (NASB)

I watched a video today of people trying eat in a restaurant on the D.C. area being hounded by BLM protesters demanding that they kneel and raise their fist as a sign they are “with them.” I didn’t see any in the video complying, but I did see a lot of bullying going on. The alpha male in me wanted to be there and take care of business, but is that what we do if we are Spirit-led Christians who are walking circumspectly?  I know that the world’s answer would be to respond totally in the flesh, but that is not the way of the Christian who is walking Circumspectly is it? 

15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Ephesians 5:15-21 (NASB) 

15 Βλέπετε οὖν ἀκριβῶς πῶς περιπατεῖτε μὴ ὡς ἄσοφοι ἀλλʼ ὡς σοφοί, 16 ἐξαγοραζόμενοι τὸν καιρόν, ὅτι αἱ ἡμέραι πονηραί εἰσιν. 17 διὰ τοῦτο μὴ γίνεσθε ἄφρονες, ἀλλὰ συνίετε τί τὸ θέλημα τοῦ κυρίου. 18 καὶ μὴ μεθύσκεσθε οἴνῳ, ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν ἀσωτία, ἀλλὰ πληροῦσθε ἐν πνεύματι, 19 λαλοῦντες ἑαυτοῖς [ἐν] ψαλμοῖς καὶ ὕμνοις καὶ ᾠδαῖς πνευματικαῖς, ᾄδοντες καὶ ψάλλοντες τῇ καρδίᾳ ὑμῶν τῷ κυρίῳ, 20 εὐχαριστοῦντες πάντοτε ὑπὲρ πάντων ἐν ὀνόματι τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρί.
21 Ὑποτασσόμενοι ἀλλήλοις ἐν φόβῳ Χριστοῦ, * Ephesians 5:15-21 (NA28)

15 See then how circumspectly you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore, do not become foolish, but understand what is the will of the Lord. 18 And not become drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled by the spirit. 19 Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual  songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord of Jesus Christ to God even the father.
21 Being submissive  to one another in the fear of Christ. Ephesians 5:15-21 (translated from the NA28 Greek text)

This “walking,” this περιπατεῖτε is the present, indicative, active form of the verb περιπατέω, which, in this context, is speaking of ‘walking concerning something.’ It is describing a certain way in which a Christian walks through each day. It has to do with relationships and how he or she responds and reacts both outwardly and inwardly to all of life’s circumstances. Paul tells us to do this ἀκριβῶς (akribōs). I translated this as “circumspectly” and the NASB as “careful.” The idea is to walk through this life looking all around, being on the lookout. The word ἀκριβῶς can also be translated as “accurate, which speaks of precision, diligence, accuracy, and exactness. Those are very important things in how I do my job as a DBA, but in our walk as Christians it also applies in our diligence to hold to the things of the Lord. Think of those preachers of God’s Word who hold firm and never waiver. They are diligent. Now think of those who do the very opposite as they waiver all over the place desperately seeking to be culturally relevant such as those who say we should all become Social Justice Warriors and supporters of BLM.

According to this passage, we are to examine ourselves, and investigate our walk with utmost care. I pray for wisdom and discernment as much as possible. To be wise is to walk watchfully, looking at and carefully examining everything with which we come in contact. As far as discernment goes, it is also something that we must diligently pray for and practice. As we walk circumspectly to investigate and examine everything we are being discerning. When we walk this way, we will know what the will of the Lord is and obey it. We will be pilots who know the way. We will know where we are going and why. We will know what we believe and why we believe it. On the other hand, those who do not walk circumspectly are like the pilot who does not know what port he is heading for. To him, no wind is the right wind. Isn’t that what the post-modern mindset says that there are no absolutes? We must walk circumspectly irregardless of what the world thinks or does or demands of us.

Soli Deo Gloria!