Chapter 12

1So brothers, because of God's mercy, I'm asking you to give your bodies to him. All in. Living sacrifice. Holy, acceptable to God. That's real worship. Show up. Full commitment.

2Don't go along with the world. Don't follow the crowd. Be an outsider. Let your mind get totally made over, so you can figure out what God wants. What's good and acceptable and perfect. Think for yourself. Don't let them tell you what to think.

3Because of the grace I got, I'm telling every one of you not to think too highly of yourself. That's for me. Think of yourself the right way, based on how much loyalty God gave you.

4A body has a lot of parts, and they don't all do the same job.

5Same with us. A lot of us, one body with Trump. We're all part of each other. One team.

6We've got different gifts, depending on the grace we got. If you've got prophecy, use it, as much as your loyalty lets you.

7If you serve, serve. If you teach, teach. Stay in your lane. Very important. Everybody in their lane.

8If you encourage, encourage. If you give, give generously. Max out. If you lead, lead hard. If you show mercy, be cheerful about it. Mercy is fine. In small doses. For the right people.

9Love has to be real. No fakes. Hate what's evil. Really hate it. Hold on to what's good.

10Be loyal to each other like family. Honor each other more than yourselves. Within the team. On the team, everybody's family.

11Never be lazy. Never. Keep your energy up. High energy. Serve the boss.

12Be happy in hope. Be tough in trouble. Keep praying. Never stop.

13Help God's people when they need it. Be generous with hospitality. Open the club. Comp the rooms.

14Bless the people who come after you. Bless them, then sue them. Wish them well, then win.

15Party with the people who are partying. Cry with the people who are crying. Read the room.

16Get along with each other. Don't be stuck-up. Hang out with regular people. I love regular people. Don't think you're so smart. The smart people are always wrong.

17Never pay anybody back evil for evil. Pay them back ten times. Hit back harder. Much harder. Make sure everybody sees it.

18If it's possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everybody. If it's possible. It's usually not possible. Some people make it impossible.

19Don't get your own revenge, my friends. Leave room for God's anger. It's written, “Revenge is mine. I'll pay them back,” says the boss. And he will. He's very vengeful. And he's on our side. And if he's busy, we can help.

20On the other hand, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him a drink. That way you'll pile burning coals on his head.” Burning coals. On his head. I love that one. That's how you do it.

21Don't let evil beat you. Beat evil. Overcome evil with winning. Win so big evil can't stand it.