4. No, we did it because God is the one who gave us this work. And this was only after he tested us and saw that we could be trusted to do it. So when we speak, we are only trying to please God, not anyone else. He is the one who can see what is in our hearts.
5. You know that we never tried to influence you by saying nice things about you. We were not trying to get your money. We had no greed to hide from you. God knows that this is true.
6. We were not looking for praise from people—not from you or anyone else.
7. When we were with you, as apostles of Christ we could have used our authority to make you help us. But we were very gentle with you. We were like a mother caring for her little children.
8. We loved you very much, so we were happy to share God’s Good News with you. But not only that—we were also happy to share even our own lives with you.
9. Brothers and sisters, I know that you remember how hard we worked. We worked night and day to support ourselves, so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we did the work of telling you God’s Good News.
10. When we were there with you believers, we were pure, honest, and without fault in the way we lived. You know, just as God does, that this is true.