God’s kindness and generosity—and ours

3 Remind them to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work. ² They are not to speak evil of anyone, nor to be quarrelsome, but to be kindly. They must be completely gentle with everyone.

³ We ourselves, you see, used at one time to be foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved to various kinds of passions and pleasures. We spent our time in wickedness and jealousy. We were despicable in ourselves, and we hated one another.