1 Corinthians 4:11-13 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.

Notice how Paul was not pointing to prosperity and worldly success as proof of the genuineness of his message or as motivation for coming to Christ. It is not by such things that Christlikeness is revealed but by willing sacrifice and endurance in the face of oppression.

Taken from Effective Evangelism

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