1 Thessalonians 2:3-8

Our appeal does not come from lies or wrong reasons, nor were we trying to trick you. But we speak the Good News because God tested us and trusted us to do it. When we speak, we are not trying to please people, but God, who tests our hearts. You know that we never tried to influence you by saying nice things about you. We were not trying to get your money; we had no selfishness to hide from you. God knows that this is true. We were not looking for human praise, from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have used our authority over you. But we were very gentle with you, like a mother caring for her little children. Because we loved you, we were happy to share not only God’s Good News with you, but even our own lives. You had become so dear to us!