Treat those over you with honor so that God’s name has a good reputation. Not everything is about you. In fact, nothing is only about you. Live for God’s glory. Think of how you are representing His name.

Some are not honoring God but causing friction. That shows they don’t know the truth. They are following after other teaching. Sound teaching and right believing would lead to godliness, purity, and love for one another.

Our goal is godliness with contentment. Be content with what you have! Be a grateful person, overflowing with thanksgiving. We lack no good thing in Christ Jesus.

Paul specifically warns against wanting to be rich. The love of money is behind many evils. Money isn’t evil. Loving it is. We love God alone. Any other love is an idol because you are putting it in the place where only God should be in your life.

We fight the good fight of faith by going after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness. But those are things of the Spirit. We fight the good fight of faith by refusing to touch the things of the world and by holding onto God.

We hold fast to God by putting ourselves in His hands to hold us fast. Don’t put it in your power to maintain your salvation. Let God save you! Look to Him every day to save you. It’s His righteousness. It’s His faith. It’s His love. He is all the good in us by Christ’s life in us, by the Spirit dwelling in us.

He’s our trust. We don’t trust in riches. Our only certainty is in Christ, so we freely give, knowing nothing is ours to keep and nothing was ours to begin with.

Jesus is what we want to have hold of. And we can, because He drew near. Our God who dwells in unapproachable light made Himself known to us.

He gave Himself for us. We give ourselves for Him. There’s nothing else that we strive after.

Our fight is to surrender. Let go of your life that you might gain Christ and have it all.