Chapter 4

1So this is how people should think of us. Trump's staff. Trusted with God's secrets.

2And the main thing you want in staff is loyalty. They have to be loyal. That's it. Loyalty.

3Frankly, I don't care if you judge me. Or any human court. I don't care what any court says. I don't even judge myself. Why would I?

4My conscience is clear. Totally clear. But that doesn't settle it. The boss judges me. Only the boss.

5So don't judge anything before the time comes. Wait until the boss comes back. He'll bring out everything hidden in the dark and show what everybody really wanted. Then everybody gets their credit from God.

6Brothers, I've used me and Apollos as examples so you'd learn not to go beyond what's written. Don't get cocky about one guy over another.

7Who said you're so special? What do you have that you didn't get from somebody? And if you got it, why are you bragging like you didn't? Like the guys who say they're self-made. Small loans. Everybody had help.

8You've already got everything you want! You're already rich! You're already kings, without us! I wish you really were kings, so we could be kings with you. Sarcasm. I'm being sarcastic. Very sarcastic.

9I think God put us apostles at the very end of the line, like guys sentenced to death in the arena. We're a show for the whole world. For angels and for people. A reality show. Highest-rated show.

10We're fools for Trump, but you're very smart in Trump! We're weak, you're strong! You're respected, we're trashed! Every night on the news. Trashed.

11Right up to this minute we're hungry and thirsty, we're in rags, we get beaten up, we have no home. Mug shots. Raids. Everything.

12We work hard with our own hands. When they curse us, we bless them, and remember their names. When they come after us, we take it, and we fight back.

13When they trash us, we answer politely. Mostly. We've become the garbage of the world, the scum of everything, right up to now. That's how they treat us. That's how they've always treated us.

14I'm not writing this to embarrass you. I'm warning you, like my own kids. Like Don and Eric.

15You might have ten thousand babysitters in Trump, but you don't have a lot of fathers. I'm your father through the good news. Paul. Your father. Respect your father.

16So copy me. Do what I do.

17That's why I'm sending you Timothy, my kid in the boss. Loyal. Very loyal. He'll remind you how I do things with Trump, the way I teach in every church everywhere.

18Some of you got cocky, like I wasn't coming back.

19But I'm coming. Soon. If the boss wants. And then I'm going to find out what these cocky people can actually do, not just what they say. Big talkers. I'm going to see the results.

20God's kingdom isn't talk. It's power. Results.

21What do you want? Should I come with a stick, or with love and a gentle spirit? Your choice. Choose wisely.