I am not sure what the British people thought when they read the King James Version in the early seventeenth century. In places it probably made more sense to them than it does to us who read the English Bible published in 1611. Look at one verse and then let’s look at it together. It says, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise” (Eph. 5:15, KJV). I realize this is a command from God that has to do with my Christian walk and I also know that it means I should not walk as a fool. But what does “circumspectly” mean? To use the King James English, “I wot not” what this means (see Phil. 1:21). The ERV translates this, “I do not know.” Or to use King James English again, we need someone to “…do you to wit” (2 Cor. 8:1) more about this. The NKJV translates this, “We make known to you.” That’s good so far, but how do I walk circumspectly? If you look carefully at this word, you can see the first part is like the word “circumference,” and the last part is like the word “inspect.” When King James said one should walk circumspectly he was saying, “Walk, looking about.”
Now that I know the word “circumspectly” means “to walk looking about,” how does this apply to my life? Since God says I must walk carefully, where should I be looking as I walk in His ways?
We must walk looking upward. All that we see around us is temporal, but above us is all that is eternal. We lay up treasures in heaven. We pray to our God in heaven. Hebrews chapter twelve says that as we run the Christian race we should “…look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…[who] has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). We are told to, “Set your minds on things above and not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2). As you walk, make sure you look upward.
We must walk looking around us. Think of how often Jesus told His disciples to watch and pray. We must see the avenue of temptation that attracts us and avoid the snares of Satan. Look around to see dangerous situations you must avoid. Also as we walk, we must see opportunities to do good and do what God says and do good as we have any opportunity (Gal. 6:10). This is how we let our lights shine before men and they glorify God because of what they see in us. One area which we could all improve is to see souls around us. Don’t just see people. See souls as you walk.
Finally, as we walk let us look inwards. We obey the first and greatest commandment in our heart. It is our soul that loves God and that loves others. Today begin with a decision to make God the most important of why we live. There is nothing more important. So let us all walk circumspectly.