1 For some of God's people, bosses have paid money to others for them so that they can work for those bosses. But you must tell those servants from me not to be angry with their bosses but to work well for them. If the servants don't work well, other people will see that, and they will speak badly about God's name and about our teaching.

2 But some bosses are Christians. So tell their servants this message from me, and say, “Don't think, ‘My boss is no good,’ because they are like your own brothers. Those bosses that you work for are also Christians. So you should love them and because of that you should do even better work for them.”

So you must tell your people those things. 3 If anyone teaches something different to other people, then he is not holding on to the truth that Jesus Christ our Lord taught them, the teaching about doing God's will. 4-5 If they teach lies, they are saying to each other, “I know God,” but they don't know him. They don't know anything. They say to each other, “I am an important person,” and they want to argue about things that aren't true. It is wrong, because they become jealous of one another and say bad words to each other. They think bad things about each other. They don't listen to God's true teaching any more, because they can't think properly. They think, “If I follow God, I will get a lot of money.”

6 It is true that if you follow God's road you should be happy. You should be happy just as though you are rich. But you mustn't keep wanting other things. You must say, “I have enough.” Only then will you be really happy. 7 When we were born in this world, what did we bring with us? Nothing! We were born empty-handed. And when we die, what will we take with us? Nothing at all. 8 But if we have food and clothes in this world, that is enough.

9 Those people who want to get rich are following the wrong road. It is the bad things in their minds that tempt them to do wrong. And in the end they will lose everything and bad things will happen to them. 10 I have told you that because, when people want a lot of money very much, then all kinds of bad things happen to them. Some people have stopped following God, because they wanted money so much. And now they are very sad. It is as though they are cutting their own hearts with a sharp knife.

11 But you are a man of God. So don't do any of those wrong things I have told you about but keep on doing what is good. And don't stop following God. You must keep going straight with faith and love and be gentle with people.

12 It is as though we who belong to God are running a race. When we run a race we don't stop or look back, we keep on running fast. We haven't reached heaven yet. So keep following God until you get there, and then you will live there forever. God called you to himself to be with him forever, and at that time when he called you to himself, you told many people that you believed in him.

13 God has heard everything I have told you. He is the one who gives life to all things. And Jesus Christ has heard me too. He himself boldly spoke the truth about God to Pontius Pilate. So I am telling you now 14 not to disobey God but to keep on obeying him until the Lord Jesus Christ comes back again. 15 He will come back here, because God has already decided to send him. But we don't know when he will come. Only God knows. God is the only real King. He rules over all the kings in all the world. There are no kings as powerful as he is. 16 He alone cannot die, he lives forever, in light that always shines. And no one can go near him. No one has ever seen him in the past and we can't see him today. So now let us all honour him, and may he rule over us now and forever. Amen.

17 Tell rich people not to be proud, always thinking about things that become spoilt in this world. They should trust in God and nothing else. He is generous and he freely gives us everything good to make us happy. 18 Tell them to be good to others and to keep busy doing all kinds of good things. Tell them to be generous and to share their things with other people. 19 If they do that, then they will store up many good things that God will give them for later in heaven. Because of that then God will give them real life.

20-21 You must keep safe all the true things God's people believe. You must look after them so that other people won't change them. Some people say, “Only the things that we know are true.” Don't listen to those people arguing or to the silly, wrong things they say. They are going the wrong way and have lost the true things that God's people believe.

I pray that God will be kind to you and to all the people who live there with you.

<- 1 Timothy 5