Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

Many great men and women down through the ages have offered counsel on how to keep our tongues checked and caged. Like Will Noris, the American journalist who specialized in rhymes that packed a wallop. He once wrote: "If your lips would keep from slips, / Five things observe with care: / To whom you speak, of whom you speak, / And how . . . and when . . . and where."

It was dear old Vance Havner, that venerable, leathery prophet of God, who once declared: "If you don't come apart . . . you will come apart"—wise counsel based on Mark 1:35.

If you aren't already doing so, I would strongly urge you to begin keeping a personal journal and write in it daily. This will not only help you focus your thoughts during and after your quiet time with God, but will enable you to look back on His footprints in your life.

I was raised to believe in the importance of a "quiet time." To the surprise of some, that concept did not originate with the late Dawson Trotman, the founder of the Navigators, but with the Lord Himself. The Scriptures are replete with references to the value of waiting for the Lord and spending time with Him.

Can't and won't. Christians need to be very careful which one they choose. It seems that we prefer to use "can't." "I just can't get along with my wife." "My husband and I can't communicate." "I can't discipline the kids as I should." "I just can't give up the affair I'm having." "I can't stop overeating."

The words of Psalm 23 are very familiar to all of us. Yet, unless we read that psalm through the eyes of a sheep, we will miss its magnificent message. Remember how it concludes? "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever" (KJV).

What those little Visine drops do for our eyes, relief does for our sighs . . . "it gets the red out." Few feelings bring a greater sense of satisfaction than relief, which Webster defines as "the removal or lightening of something oppressive, painful, or distressing."

"You do not have to sit outside in the dark. If, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is required. The stars neither require it nor demand it" (Annie Dillard). A lot of things in life are like that, aren't they? A piano sits in a room, gathering dust.

The old prophet Habakkuk wrote relevant words of truth when he put this down in the first chapter of his prophecy: "Yes, destruction and violence are before me; strife exists and contention arises. Therefore the law is ignored and justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous." (Hab. 1:3–4).

A Public Agenda Foundation study, coauthored by Daniel Yankelovich, came up with these top ten qualities that today's workers want in a job: 1. Work with people who treat me with respect. 2. Interesting work. 3. Recognition for good work. 4. Chance to develop skills.

While traveling across northern California several years ago, I tuned in a radio talk show where the host had just conducted a poll of his listeners regarding job satisfaction. Some sort of questionnaire had been mailed to folks within a broad radius of several cities along the San Francisco peninsula and East Bay region.

In a cartoon strip some years ago a little guy was taking heat from his sister and friends for a newly found "calling"—patting birds on the head. The distressed birds would approach, lower their little feathered pates to be patted, sigh deeply, and walk away satisfied.

It was Ernest Hemingway who once said, "Time is the least thing we have of." And he was right. How quickly time passes—and how often we lament this. If only we could tack an extra twenty-five or thirty years on to the usual span. There is so much more we want to see, to celebrate, to do.

Call me sentimental, but some tunes really send me reeling. And nobody—I mean nobody—does it any better than Barbra Streisand. Her rendition of "The Way We Were" is pretty close to the ultimate in my book. Remember the words? "Memories . . . light the corners of my mind. . . ."

"My treat!" Nice words to hear, huh? They have flowed into my ears from any number of places. At Thirty-One Flavors on a smoggy, stifling, sweltering August afternoon after I've ordered a double-decker "pralines 'n' cream, dark cone" with a buddy. He digs deeper, faster. I start licking, smilin'.

A birth is always exciting. Yes, always. Whether it is your baby or someone else's, those first cries never fail to make our hearts flutter. Family ties are strengthened as new life extends the roots. Everybody moves in closer and smiles approvingly. What power little babies possess!

How have you responded to these temptations mentioned in yesterday's reading in your own life? Do you give things instead of giving yourself, your presence, your personal involvement? Do you save your best for the workplace? Do you deliver lectures rather than earning respect by listening and learning?

I don't often recommend a volume without reservation, but I think every man should read Temptations Men Face by Tom Eisenman. I'm not saying I agree with everything in it, or that you will, but his observations, insights, and suggestions are both penetrating and provocative.

You—or someone you know—may soon be graduating. I extend my congratulations! Whether you set new academic records or not, you finished. You saw it through. I commend you. Before that happens, however, let me give you four simple commandments that apply to anyone who is graduating.

Conscience is our moral intuition. It's that part of us that passes judgment on our own state. And it takes away our confidence when something is sour or bad. It takes away our security when it is soiled. "Let your conscience be your guide." You've heard that. You've said it. Wait a minute.