²⁴ A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.

² They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone.

Listening and Doing

¹⁹ Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. ²⁰ Human anger^[a] does not produce the righteousness^[b] God desires.

² So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife.^[a] He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. ³ He must not be a heavy drinker^[b] or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money.

⁷ A church leader^[a] is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker,^[b] violent, or dishonest with money.

Paul’s Final Instructions

¹¹ But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

⁷ As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children^[a] among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children.

¹³ Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

¹⁴ Do everything without complaining and arguing,

All Christians

⁸ Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters.^[a] Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.