Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

After Adam and Eve disobeyed God for the first time—and sin entered the world—it didn't take long for them to begin looking out for number one. Enter self-interest.

It's been my experience that before I can fully conquer any problem, I need to understand the problem as well as possible, especially its origin. To do that with "self," we must go back, way back.

Yesterday, we looked at the apostle Peter's three crucial realms related to true success: authority, attitude, and anxiety. Let's translate those realms into practical principles. You could think of them in steps.

Maybe we should confess that one reason we find it so hard to set selfishness aside and adopt the spirit of a servant is that we're driven by dreams of success. We want to be winners.

Let's admit it; ours is an age of gross selfishness. The "me" era. And we get mighty uncomfortable even when God begins to make demands on us. Of course, our inner "self" doesn't want to dump God entirely.

Let's think about an essential mark of servanthood: integrity . . . or absolute honesty. Remember these words? "Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart . . ."

When we think of what the great apostle Paul was like, the idea of humility isn't the first one that jumps into our minds. Consider his own admission.

The great apostle Paul was just like you and me . . . he had a love for God blended with feet of clay. Great passion . . . and great weakness. The longer I thought about this concept, the more evidence emerged from Scripture to support it.

Perhaps the finest model, other than Christ Himself, was that young Jew from Tarsus who was radically transformed from a strong-willed official in Judaism to a bond servant of Jesus Christ—Paul.

"Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant" (Matthew 20:26). Forgotten words. Truth be told, even in our churches we tend to get so caught up in a success-and-size race that we lose sight of our primary calling as followers of Christ.

Journey back with me for a moment to one of the many scenes that demonstrated just how ordinary Jesus's disciples were. What makes this account interesting is the presence of a mother of two of the disciples.

Exactly what does our heavenly Father want to develop within us? Well, rather than getting neck-deep in tricky theological waters, I believe the simple answer is found in Christ's own words.

Our world has become a large, impersonal, busy institution. We are alienated from each other. Although crowded, we are lonely. Pushed together but uninvolved. No longer do most neighbors visit across the backyard fence.

Psalm 149 encourages the people of God to praise Him at all times, regardless of circumstances. In times of blessing, praise Him! In times of suffering, praise Him! In times of warfare, praise Him!

Psalm 149 is not only a call to praise the Lord in times of blessing, and encouragement to praise Him in times of suffering, it's also a call to arms.

This song of celebration, Psalm 149, is like a rallying cry, urging all of God's people to praise the Lord regardless of their circumstances. That includes times when people aren't naturally inclined to boast on God.

Psalm 149 is one of five "praise the Lord" psalms that conclude the Hebrews' ancient hymnal. Like the other four, it begins with the command "Hallelujah!" leading to a time of exalting God's goodness.

There are times when the hardest words in the world to utter are "Praise the Lord!" (also translated "Hallelujah!"). These words just don't flow from our lips. In fact, there are times we are turned off even when others use the words!

In Psalm 142:5–6, David asked the Lord to change his circumstances: to deal justly with his persecutors and to honor His promise to make David king. But he also recognized the greater need for God to change his state of mind.

David feels enveloped or wrapped up in his depression, so much so his spirit feels faint and feeble. In the middle of confessing his darkest feelings of hopelessness, he acknowledges that God knows everything.