2 Corinthians (2 Co) 6:1-10

As God’s fellow-workers we also urge you not to receive his grace and then do nothing with it. For he says, “At the acceptable time I heard you; in the day of salvation I helped you.” We try not to put obstacles in anyone’s path, so that no one can find fault with the work we do. On the contrary, we try to commend ourselves in every way as workers for God by continually enduring troubles, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, overwork, lack of sleep and food. We commend ourselves by our purity, knowledge, patience and kindness; by the Ruach HaKodesh; by genuineness of love and truthfulness of speech; and by God’s power. We commend ourselves through our use of righteous weapons, whether for pressing our cause or defending it; through being honored and dishonored, praised and blamed, considered deceptive and sincere, unknown and famous. And we commend ourselves as God’s workers headed for death, yet look! we’re alive! as punished, yet not killed; as having reason to be sad, yet always filled with joy; as poor, yet making many people rich; as having nothing, yet having everything!