Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

You’ve probably heard the expression “Money can’t buy happiness.” Personally, I struggle with that statement because I can think of a lot of things I could buy that would make me very happy!

As we continue examining God’s money-management principles, we discover a connection between wisdom and wealth.

While studying the book of Proverbs, I discovered several principles that helped me understand money management from God’s perspective.

Few “grinds” in life are more nerve-racking and energy draining than those that result from financial irresponsibility. Many are the headaches and heartaches of being overextended.

There were times in my childhood when I would become fearful at night. (You may recall having similar feelings.) At those times I would grab the covers and snatch them over my head.

All right, so God knows me and controls me; He can do that at a distance, through millions and millions of light years of space. But is He near? According to Psalm 139, David's song about the amazing attributes of God, yes.

The Lord remains in complete control of the smallest details of His creation; He is all-knowing and all-powerful. Knowing us as He does, He puts the necessary controls upon us. The fact that He "encloses" us could be misunderstood.

If you've ever been a part of a large organization, such as a multibillion-dollar corporation or a governmental agency or a university, it's unlikely you've ever met the people at the top of the leadership chain.

Most folks struggle with feelings of insignificance from time to time . . . For some, feeling insignificant is not simply a periodic battle; it is a daily grind! We know deep down inside we're valuable.

Ants, conies, locusts, and lizards offer very significant illustrations of virtues everyone can apply to their life.

As we consider Agur’s fourth and final animal illustration, we must wrestle with an unusually enigmatic proverb.

Great civilizations often achieve great things because they have a great leader who casts a vision, marshals their resources, organizes their members, inspires their action, and of course, goes before them.

Children enter the world with no concept of the word "can’t." Soon, however, the world begins to teach them that some things are, indeed, beyond their reach.

Ants, conies, locusts, lizards—sounds like a roll call for Noah’s ark or perhaps the cast of characters in an animated feature film.

Did God respond to the plea of Psalm 137? Absolutely! After seventy years in exile, every Jew who wanted to return to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and restore the temple was allowed to do so. And the Jews learned their lesson.

The composer of Psalm 137 acknowledged the sorrow of his situation, recognizing that Judah had brought this chastisement upon themselves. But he didn't stay in the doldrums.

After relating the anguish of lingering consequences in Psalm 137:1–3, the writer does a little self-analysis. His perspective shifts from looking outward to searching within. He asks a reasonable question in verse 4.

The historical background of Psalm 137 is very sad. The people of God failed to heed centuries of warnings and found themselves living with the consequences of disobedience.

No one can deny the relentless pain brought on by enduring the consequences of wrong actions. It may be as quick and simple as the sting following a swat from a parent's paddle or as lingering and severe as a prison sentence.

Before closing off our study of intolerance, two more sayings are worth our attention: "The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered" (11:25).