Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

A Survival Secret

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YOU CAN'T TURN ON the evening news without being inundated with painful reminders of the shocking disregard for God's moral law in our culture.

Surviving times as intense as ours cannot happen easily. Furthermore, it is not something we do corporately or, for that matter, publicly. It's an "inside job," this business of rising above and living according to God's holy standard. The secret? Turning away from evil. Paul wrote these penetrating words:

"All who belong to the LORD must turn away from evil."

2 TIMOTHY 2:19

God is calling all of us to an increased discipline in the private realms of our lives. It's a survival secret being overlooked by many.

Pause and answer each question honestly.

Are you regularly with a person of the opposite sex in situations that are inappropriate or could appear to others as such?

Are you completely above reproach in all your financial dealings?

Do you expose yourself to explicit sexual material?

Do you regularly spend time in prayer and the Scriptures?

Are there unresolved conflicts between you and another person?

How quickly do you say "I am wrong . . . I am genuinely sorry" when you have said or done something that hurt another?

Do you linger over angry thoughts? Do you hold grudges?

Are you knowingly compromising in some area of your life, refusing to acknowledge the consequences you will surely have to face?

Have you formed a habit that is detrimental to your walk with Christ?

Are you proud . . . selfish . . . arrogant?

Have you taken credit for something that someone else did?

Sin will take you farther than you want to go, it will keep you longer than you want to stay, and it will cost you more than you want to pay. Whatever changes you need to make, start today. Don't hesitate because of the pain it may cause or the problems it may create. Surviving requires changes. Sometimes, drastic changes. Like turning away from evil. Like saying "no" to sin.