Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

How's it going with you and the kids? Maybe that question doesn't apply to you. You may be single, or you may not have children, or you may have already raised your brood. If so, bear with me while I address those of you who are still in the process of training and rearing.

Are you living every day (as if it's your last) for His glory? Do you work diligently at your job and in your home (as if He isn't coming for another ten years) for His name's sake? Do you shake salt and shine the light every chance you get? Do you remain balanced, cheerful, winsome, and stable, anticipating His return?

Cynthia and I were enjoying a quiet evening at home. The house was unusually still, and we were sitting there sipping freshly perked coffee and having a quiet conversation. You know, one of those priceless moments you wish you could wrap up and bring out again when you really need it.

This may shock you, but I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me, or say about me, my circumstances, or my position.

In my younger years I had a lot more answers than I do now. Things were absolutely black or white, right or wrong, yes or no, in or out—but a lot of that is beginning to change. The more I travel and read and wrestle and think, the less simplistic things seem.

Not everybody gets "turned on" over management concepts, but most of us can profit from such information at home or church or school. Even as individuals we may find some of these principles coming in handy. If organizations are not to become stagnant, they must renew themselves—stay continually fresh.

Ever get the feeling that life's a little too tight—like an ill-fitting shoe? Commitments are piling up and you're taking things much too seriously? You either can't get to sleep or you wake up at two in the morning and spend the next three hours rehearsing everything you have to do and can't possibly get done?

When the death of Richard Nixon and the twentieth anniversary of his resignation were strangely juxtaposed only a few months apart, the networks were overloaded with revisits to and retrospectives on Watergate. I was intrigued by a book by Leo Rangell, M.D., a psychiatrist.

As our world is getting smaller, our minds seem to be following suit. Our level of selfishness is increasing by the day. Suddenly, nobody wants you to invade his or her "space." Sharing may be the major subject in a kindergarten class, but somewhere on the way to adulthood the lessons get erased.

Well, it's mid July. Time to make a mad dash for the pool or at least a tall, frosty glass of iced tea. But while you're swimming or sipping, think about helping. Yeah, helping. Think about being of assistance . . . your arm around the hunched shoulders of another.

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children" (Eph. 5:1, NIV). Maybe you never realized such a statement was in the Bible. What a strange command: "Be imitators of God"! But to do that, to be an imitator of God, requires that we come to terms with the value of quietness.

Marian Anderson, the great contralto who won worldwide acclaim, didn't simply grow great; she grew great simply. In spite of her fame, she remained a beautiful model of humility. A reporter interviewing Miss Anderson once asked her to name the greatest moment in her life.

His face was covered with a full beard. His hair fell almost to his shoulders. When he smiled, his white teeth flashed in contrast to the blanket of brown that concealed his skin. His eyes were blue, clear, and alert. His laughter was strong and familiar to my ears.

Those words aren't original with me. They came from a shrink living in Marin County, California—Pierre Mornell, who wrote a book that bears that title. The issue that concerned Dr. Mornell is found in Christian marriages just as often as in non-Christian ones.

John Gardner, a United States cabinet member under President Johnson, once pointed out that by their mid-thirties most people have stopped acquiring new skills and new attitudes in any aspect of their lives. Does that jolt you? Stop and think, you who are over thirty. How long has it been since you acquired a new skill?

Many years ago one of my mentors told me a story I have never forgotten. A missionary was home on furlough, traveling by car from church to church. Late one rainy evening, facing a long and lonely all-night journey, he asked the Lord to help him stay awake and make it safely to the next place he would minister.

Have you counted your blessings lately? Let me suggest one you might have overlooked. Let's be thankful for angels—those unseen guardians who work overtime, who never slumber or sleep. Angels exist as supernatural creatures in and about heaven, and they are frequently dispatched to earth in human form.

When Christians are up against a wall, it's interesting that they finally turn to prayer. The only thing that will work is the last thing we try. Take a look at this: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Phil. 4:6–7).

Okay, folks . . . it's that time again. I'm down to two suits, one sports coat, and only a couple of pants that I can squeeze into. No more excuses. I'm tired of good intentions, secret promises to myself, groans and grunts as I roll out of bed in the morning, and especially those well-meaning comments from first-time visitors.

It was one of those days. Demands. Deadlines. Decisions. Endless interruptions mixed with a nagging headache that Tylenol wouldn't erase and positive thinking wouldn't help. Right in the middle of the mess, a guy poked his head in the door, smiled, and (among other things) dropped a real gem on me.