Unity of the body of Christ

4 Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you received from God. ² Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love, ³ and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. ⁴ You are one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in one hope. ⁵ There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.

Psalm 24

A psalm of David.

Learning and practicing good judgment

⁵⁴ Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud forming in the west, you immediately say, ‘It’s going to rain.’ And indeed it does. ⁵⁵ And when a south wind blows, you say, ‘A heat wave is coming.’ And it does. ⁵⁶ Hypocrites! You know how to interpret conditions on earth and in the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret the present time? ⁵⁷ And why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸ As you are going to court with your accuser, make your best effort to reach a settlement along the way. Otherwise, your accuser may bring you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. ⁵⁹  I tell you, you won’t get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.”^[a]