By: Obed Pineda
“Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil” (Proverbs 4:26-27)
It is undeniable that the greatest honor any man or woman can receive in life is to be called to serve the Almighty. As the Lord prepared His chosen twelve for the journey they would embark upon after His departure, He reminded them “when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do’” (Luke 17:10). It is curious that the Master’s words mirror the mindset of a soldier who serves his or her country by following the orders of their commander-in-chief, since Paul’s counsel to his young protégé follows this concept, saying, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good solider of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier” (2nd Timothy 2:3-4). One of the reasons being enlisted by God into His service is a great honor is because it exhibits His trust in that person. In the Parable of the Talents (cf. Matthew 25:14-30) the Lord begins it by highlighting this truth as He spoke, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them” (Matthew 25:14). The two details in His introduction that verifies God’s trust in whom He enlists are that He calls “His own servants” and does not hire outside help, and that He hands over to them His valuable possessions. Luke’s account of this parable (or a similar parable to it) makes a greater impact on this second point as he jots the nobleman’s instructions to them as, “Do business till I come” (Luke 19:13b). For this reason, the servants who were diligent in following their Master’s command results in Him expressing to them “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:19-23). What earned these two servants their incredible reward was their loyalty in doing as they were commanded to do while the master of the house was away. Not only did they confirm his initial trust in them by their obedience, but the trust they had received increased tremendously as evidenced by the fact that they would now rule over many things. The multiplication of this blessing was the effect from their fulfillment of the duty they had been assigned by their lord. This illustration of meekness displayed in the parable expands upon the teaching of the proverb quoted at the opening of this treatise. It also manifests why it was commanded to Moses and Joshua to remove the sandals off their feet “for the place where you stand is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5, Joshua 5:15). The instruction given to Moses and Joshua resonates with the proverb’s initial instruction of “ponder the path of your feet” (Proverbs 4:26a). It was explained to both men that the place where they stood was holy, not because the soil itself was holy, but because the presence of God made it holy. Thus, they were being notified of Whose presence they stood before and were required to show reverence to Him. The Koheleth, too, cautions, “Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil” (Ecclesiastes 5:1). Once they understood that it was in the holy presence of the Almighty they stood before, they were able to establish the path their feet were now required to walk. Remember that on many occasions, the Holy Spirit uses the image of walking to represent a person’s lifestyle exuded by his or her conduct. Before Abraham’s name was changed and circumcision was given to him as the sign of the covenant between he and God, it was ordered to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1b). Understanding that God had taken him out of his father’s idolatrous home (cf. Genesis 12:1, Joshua 24:2-3) and that he and Sarai had erred in their presumption of “aiding” God in His promise of an heir (cf. Genesis 16:2-5, 17:18-19) Abraham had learned that “all the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits. Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established” (Proverbs 16:2-3). Prior to gaining this precious knowledge, Abram was walking without direction, “as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:17-18). Abraham, Moses, and Joshua all succeeded in establishing a path for their feet to traverse because they were “renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Ephesians 4:23). Their newfound spiritual knowledge alone was not enough, however. They comprehended Who was enlisting them and the road He set before them to walk upon, but this alone was not portraying meekness or reverence. Before they could commence walking the path in front of them, they needed to remove the sandals that were on their feet when they were chosen, because they were stained with filth from the “fields” they had been on prior to their calling. In other words, they were in dire need for a change of sandals; they needed new, clean sandals. The beloved apostle describes this to mean that “if we walk in light as He is in light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” thus, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1st John 1:7, 2:6). The proverb corroborates with the inspired apostle by concluding “do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil” (Proverbs 4:27). Through the training of godly discipline, one removes the sin-stained sandals off his feet and learns how to “make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather healed” (Hebrews 12:3-12). Worn out and filthy sandals can make a person’s foot slip off the narrow road that can lead to death, hence why it is important to exchange them for the new ones God provides. Believing that one can wear a new pair on top of the old pair, simultaneously, is illogical. For this reason, the apostle correctly exhorts that “as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him” (Colossians 2:6).