Book of Common Prayer
11 I want to say something a little bit foolish. But please listen to me!
2 I love you as God loves you. I see you as a woman who has not been married and I am giving you to be the wife of a husband. That husband is Christ.
3 But the snake fooled Eve by his trick. And I am afraid that your minds will be drawn away from a clean, pure love of Christ.
4 You listen to a new man when he comes to tell you about a different Jesus, which is not the one we told you about. And when you receive a spirit and a message which are not the ones you had first, then you listen too much.
5 But I really do not think that the chief apostles are any better than I am!
6 Maybe I am not a good talker, but I surely know what I am talking about! Yes, we made this plain to you in every way in all things.
7 Perhaps it was wrong for me to bring myself down in order to raise you up. Do you think that? Was it wrong for me to tell you the good news without pay?
8 I took pay from other churches. I made them poor so that I might help you.
9 When I was with you and needed money, I did not make any of you pay me. When the brothers came from Macedonia, they gave me what I needed. So I was not, and I will not be, any trouble to you.
10 Surely, the true word of Christ is in me. I will never stop being proud of this anywhere in Achaia [Greece].
11 Why is this? Is it because I do not love you? God knows that I love you.
12 And I will keep on doing what I am doing now. Some teachers are praising themselves. They say they are like us. By doing this I prove they are not like us.
13 Men like that are not true apostles. They work to fool people. They try to make themselves look like apostles of Christ.
14 I am not surprised. Satan tries to make himself look like an angel of light.
15 So it is not strange if his workers also try to make themselves look like God's workers who do right. They will come to an end like the work they do! think that I am foolish. But if you do, then please listen to me as if I were foolish. I also want to do a little talking about myself.
16 I am not talking like the Lord when I say this. It seems foolish to say so much about myself.
17 Many people talk about themselves in the world. So I will too.
18 Since you are wise, you still agree to listen to foolish people.
19 You listen to a man even if he makes slaves of you, even if he spends all your money, even if he catches you in a trap, even if he is proud of himself, even if he slaps you in the face.
20 I am ashamed, but I must say that we were too weak to be like that! Anything that others want to be proud of, I can talk about too. And yet it is really foolish to do so.
21 Are they Hebrew people? So am I. Are they Israel's people? So am I. Is Abraham their father? He is mine too.
16 `When you are fasting [not eating food for a time], do not look sad. That is what people do who are not true to themselves. They look sad to show people they are fasting. I tell you the truth. They have their reward already.
17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face as you do at other times.
18 Then people will not see that you are fasting. But your Father sees secret things, and he will reward you.'
19 `Do not keep many things for yourself on earth. Insects and rust will spoil them. People will get in and steal them.
20 But keep things for yourself in heaven. Insects and rust will not spoil them there. People will not get in and steal them.
21 The place where you keep things is where your heart will be also.'
22 `The body gets its light through the eyes. If you have good eyes, all your body will have light.
23 But if your eyes are bad, all your body will be in darkness. If the light in you is dark, it will be very dark for you.'
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