Walk in wisdom
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16).
I like words that are not in common use such as “circumspect”. Understanding their usage enriches our appreciation of language. “Circumspect” comes from the Latin circum meaning “around” and specere meaning “to look”. Literally, that conveys the idea of looking carefully and accurately at things. It is a feature of wisdom which, in its wider sense, does not take things at face value. It weighs them up and considers the potential consequences before making decisions and acting on them.
We live in a world that wants us to make quick decisions. That is why images are so important in marketing products. If people like the look of something, the overriding urge is to possess it. This can lead to poor judgements and unhappy and sometimes tragic consequences. In the opening chapters of the Bible, Eve “saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate” (Genesis 3:6). Later in Genesis, Lot “lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar” (Genesis 13:10). Notice the connection in both passages with Eden. The garden of Eden was a place God provided so He could have fellowship with people. That fellowship was broken. People yearn for a materially perfect place but there is no spiritual desire or responsibility towards the Person who alone can meet our true need – salvation. Lot longed for Egypt, which in the Bible is a picture of the world, and it was a spiritual man who took him there – Abraham. Although Lot left Egypt, Egypt was still in his heart. If Abraham had walked circumspectly he would not have put himself, his wife and his nephew in physical, moral and spiritual danger. God delivered and blessed Abraham. But when Lot’s decision-making was influenced by his experience of Egypt, there were tragic consequences.
The Lord Jesus told His disciples to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. Grace makes us wise, not foolish. We live in a dangerous and evil world. You don’t need to be a Christian to realise such is the case. It has been so encouraging to take advantage of video conferencing to maintain the fellowship and the encouragement of the people of God over recent months. We can also use the internet to witness in new ways. But the internet is also used to defraud, bully, blackmail and destroy people’s relationships and lives. And it is further used to damage the infrastructure of economies and endanger the world’s safety.
Billy Bray, the remarkable Cornish miner and Christian, was walking home from work late one evening. The path he took was dark and lonely, and his colleagues decided they would take the opportunity to frighten this man of God. So they hid in the trees and made strange noises; one called out, “Billy, it’s Satan, I’m over here.” Billy calmly replied, “You can’t be Satan; you are too far away.” Evil is never far away. The Lord Jesus wants us to be wise and consider carefully the small and great steps we take, and to understand the preciousness of time and how we can best use it. It is in His presence that we learn this wisdom that comes from above (James 3:17-18) and how to walk in it.
