Have you ever noticed how novelists or movie directors make use of the way a person walks to highlight his or her character? Proud man walks erect, their heads held high. Beautiful women glide or float. Villains slouch, sneak, creep, or swagger. The need to describe different ways of walking has enriched our language. The Oxford Thesaurus lists dozens of synonyms for walking: truck, shuffle, ramble, March, Roam, Wander, and others. According to Eugene A Nida of the American Bible Society, the Zulu language has at least 120 words for walking: to walk pompously, to walk with a swagger, to walk crouching down as when hunting a wild animal, to walk in tight clothes, and so on.
How should a Christian walk? The Bible tells us “To walk worthy” of our calling (Ephesians 4:1 KJV), “uprightly” (Isaiah 57:2), and “in the light” (1 John 1:7). Micah 6:8 says, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” In the previous section of Psalm 119, the writer is concerned with his walk, and the burden of his concern is that it be according to God’s word (Psalm 119:106, 110).