Book of Common Prayer
21 Well, I’m ashamed to say it: we weren’t strong enough for that!
Boasting of weaknesses
Whatever anyone else dares to boast about (I’m talking nonsense, remember), I’ll boast as well. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they the servants of the Messiah?—I’m talking like a raving madman—I’m a better one. I’ve worked harder, been in prison more often, been beaten more times than I can count, and I’ve often been close to death. 24 Five times I’ve had the Jewish beating, forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; I was adrift in the sea for a night and a day. 26 I’ve been constantly traveling, facing dangers from rivers, dangers from brigands, dangers from my own people, dangers from foreigners, dangers in the town, dangers in the countryside, dangers at sea, dangers from false believers. 27 I’ve toiled and labored, I’ve burnt the candle at both ends, I’ve been hungry and thirsty, I’ve often gone without food altogether, I’ve been cold and naked.
28 Quite apart from all that, I have this daily pressure on me, my care for all the churches. 29 Who is weak and I’m not weak? Who is offended without me burning with shame?
30 If I must boast, I will boast of my weaknesses. 31 The God and father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows that I’m not lying: 32 in Damascus, King Aretas, the local ruler, was guarding the city of Damascus so that he could capture me, 33 but I was let down in a basket through a window and over the wall, and I escaped his clutches.
24 “Nobody can serve two masters. Otherwise, they will either hate the first and love the second, or be devoted to the first and despise the second. You can’t serve both God and wealth.”
Do not worry
25 “So let me tell you: don’t worry about your life—what to eat, what to drink; don’t worry about your body—what to wear. There’s more to life than food! There’s more to the body than a suit of clothes! 26 Have a good look at the birds in the sky. They don’t plant seeds, they don’t bring in the harvest, they don’t store things in barns—and your father in heaven feeds them! Think how different you are from them! 27 Can any of you add fifteen inches to your height just by worrying about it?
28 “And why worry about what to wear? Take a tip from the lilies in the countryside. They don’t work; they don’t weave; 29 but, let me tell you, not even Solomon in all his finery was dressed as well as one of these. 30 So if God gives that sort of clothing even to the grass in the field, which is here today and on the bonfire tomorrow, isn’t he far more likely to clothe you too, you little-faith lot?
31 “So don’t worry away with your ‘What’ll we eat?’ and ‘What’ll we drink?’ and ‘What’ll we wear?’ 32 Those are all the kinds of things the Gentiles fuss about, and your heavenly father knows you need them all. 33 Instead, make your top priority God’s kingdom and his way of life, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow can worry about itself. One day’s trouble at a time is quite enough.”
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.