“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16-17 NKJV)
“Get to stepping,” heard that said more than once in my lifetime and in different settings. In elementary school one of our “exercises” in Physical Education was walking two by two, as if we were military recruits. It must have taken hours for the P.E. teacher to come up with that lesson plan. I’m just being sarcastic. But with the sarcasm put aside, I recall being taught how to do a shuffle step to get back in synch as I walked with my classmates to the commands of “Your left, your left, your left, right, left.” If somebody questioned the purpose of the exercise, the P.E. teacher would shout, “Get to stepping.” My sarcasm returns. I though I already had the walking thing mastered, but I guess there was much more to learn. I’m still guessing. However, correctly being cooperative or better yet, submissive to the authority over me, I would get to stepping.
School was not the only place I heard that expression. On a rare shopping trip, I heard a little child crying out to his mother, “I want one of those! Please mommy!” His mother would respond, “You better keep moving. Come on! Get to stepping.” Caring individuals who saw their friends being attracted to something off limits, attracted to someplace where they should not go, or attracted to some people of whom it was best not to get involved with; the caring friend would say pretty much the same words, “Get to stepping.”
Now let’s be transparent and thankful! Be glad that the Holy Spirit tells us in so many words, “Get to stepping”, when we occasionally pause, ponder, possibly even to the point of planning to take a brief leave of absence from the path of righteousness. Rejoice that He guided you away from making a sinful stop at a figurative or literal corner in life where you would have found yourself in the walking close to the counsel of the wicked, standing in the path of sinners, or getting comfortable and sitting in the seat of scoffers! Oh thank God for the Helper! Too many exclamation marks for you? Well after giving thanks to the Lord anytime, an exclamation mark goes right at the end of your expression of gratitude to God. Listen! There is no sarcasm in this paragraph! This is serious stuff, encapsulated in a short writing! For there are times when we will need to give an order to “Get to stepping” to ourselves or others. Go ahead and say “Amen,” because I know I’m right. I don’t even have to ask you, “Ain’t I right about it?”
My mother did not use that exact expression. She would just say, “Walk in the light, the beautiful light. Come where the dew drops of mercy shine bright. Shine all around me by day and by night, Jesus, the Light of the world.” But what she was saying in her sweet and serene way was, “Get to stepping!”
Time for you to get busy this Wednesday morning, so “Get to stepping,” in the way that the Lord has shown you to go! Have a great day! Stay God-conscious! Be blessed!
“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” (Psalm 1:1 NASB)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King