Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

Shortly after World War II came to a close, Europe began picking up the pieces. Much of the old country had been ravaged by war and was in ruins. Perhaps the saddest sight of all was that of little orphaned children . . .

A full year before the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, they had begun a project. No doubt they were filled with enthusiasm, the thrill of a fresh beginning. But with the passing of time, the newness had worn off.

I'll never forget an actual situation I heard about on the radio some years ago. A woman in West Palm Beach, Florida, died alone at the age of 71. The coroner's report was tragic. "Cause of death: malnutrition."

Following Christ as His disciple is a costly, unselfish decision. It calls for a radical examination of our self-centered lifestyles. Whew! That's one of those easy things to say but tough to carry out.

Quite a while ago, a young man I had known for several years expressed an interest in living in our home and being discipled in the context of our family.

The Christians in the Macedonian churches were servants who gave to the needs of the believers in Jerusalem, giving anonymously, in fact. Paul . . . also mentioned something else about those Macedonian servant-saints.

When Paul made his way through Europe, specifically the region of ancient Macedonia, he announced to the churches in that area the financial need of the church in Jerusalem.

The Word of God lays a solid, biblical foundation for what it means to have a servant mentality. But let's get some handles on what's involved in pulling it off. For starters, let me suggest three basic ingredients of servanthood.

Having "humility of mind" is really an attitude, isn't it? It's a preset mentality that determines ahead of time thoughts like this: "I care about those around me." "Why do I always have to be first?"

Before time began, God had in His mind's eye a masterpiece—a beautiful picture of grace that His beloved Son, the second person of the Trinity, would illustrate with His life.

Christmas comes each year to draw people in from the cold. Like tiny frightened sparrows, shivering in the winter cold, many live their lives on the barren branches of heartbreak, disappointment, and loneliness, lost in thoughts of shame, self-pity, guilt, or failure.

I like the tongue-in-cheek definition of philosophers one of my seminary professors would occasionally use. It's classic: Philosophers are people who talk about something they don't understand and make you think it's your fault!

I'll never forget a trip I took with my older son to shoot the rapids at the Rogue River in Oregon. While we were receiving instructions from the guide . . . , I began to study the canoes with my eyes.

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.