4 God was pleased to trust us with his message. We didn't speak to please people, but to please God who knows our motives.
5 You also know that we didn't try to flatter anyone. God himself knows that what we did wasn't a cover-up for greed.
6 We were not trying to get you or anyone else to praise us.
7 But as apostles, we could have demanded help from you. After all, Christ is the one who sent us. We chose to be like children or like a mother nursing her baby.
8 We cared so much for you, and you became so dear to us, that we were willing to give our lives for you when we gave you God's message.
9 My dear friends, you haven't forgotten our hard work and hardships. You remember how night and day we struggled to make a living, so that we could tell you God's message without being a burden to anyone.
10 Both you and God are witnesses that we were pure and honest and innocent in our dealings with you followers of the Lord.