Watch Your Step

“Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.” (Pr 28:18 AV)

We tend to think of uprightly as on two feet as opposed to being on all fours.  Being upright has more to do with the quality of walk, not a position while walking.  The word ‘upright’ means, “entire; whole; sound, healthful; what is complete or entirely in accord with truth and fact.”  Conversely, ‘perverse’ means, “to knot or to distort; to be crooked.”  The above proverb is not hard to understand at all!  It is rather simple.  The salvation to which the writer refers is not spiritual salvation resulting in eternal life.  This type of salvation comes not by our own works.  Walking uprightly will not result in our spiritual salvation because the times we have not walked uprightly, which is almost all of the time, must be forgiven.  They cannot be paid for by walking uprightly when we should have been walking uprightly all along.  Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our perverseness.  The salvation to which Solomon refers is salvation from circumstances as a result of walking perversely.  If we live right, we will not fall by the hand of our own wills.

A few weeks ago, our family went to this place that had all sorts of discovery exhibits for the kids.  One of which was a rope jungle.  You know what I am talking about.  It is a series of ropes and rope bridges suspended in the air.  There are different levels.  My son wanted me to try it out and all I can say is one must be forty years younger and one hundred pounds lighter to even think about going up.  As was expected, he laughed at me.  What he doesn’t know is the difficulty of walking on uneven ground while wearing trifocals.  Those who do not wear them have no idea.  They are not like progressives.  They are immensely harder to work with.  The seams which separate one magnification from another get in the way.  I have to tilt my head until my chin is in my chest before I can clearly see my feet.  The two and four-power lenses make everything distant, out of focus.  Walking down steps can be a challenge.  Trying to walk while looking at a distorted picture is difficult.  I have misjudged the depth of the step.  I have missed the joint between the step and the riser.  Not a pretty picture.  Walking according to what is really there makes falling much less possible. 

Age has a way of slowing you down and making sure of the steps you take.  Age has a way of elevating discernment and limiting risk.  When we are young, we don’t mind taking the risk.  The consequences can be overcome.  When you get older, a fall is far more painful and the recovery is much slower.  So, we are far more cautious.  This often is met with scoffing from those who don’t know any better.  We have learned that if we walk upright, then our falls will be far less.  We know walking with a cane so we have three points of contact is safer.  It may take a while longer to get where we want to go, but we will arrive in one piece with no injury to tend to.  The same is true with all of life’s choices.  Walking circumspectly, as Paul puts it, will save us from unnecessary harm.  Walking in the wisdom of the word of God will keep us from avoidable disaster.  Walking upright will save us while walking perversely will cause a fall.  And sometimes, the fall can be great.