Then he went on, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For from within, from the human heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from within, and they defile a person.”
Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds, so that you will be able to discern the will of God and to know what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Finally, brethren, let your minds be filled with whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, whatever is excellent, whatever is worthy of praise.
Indeed, the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any two-edged sword, it pierces to the point where it divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and the intentions of the heart.
Brethren, I exhort you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to be in full agreement with one another and not permit any divisions to arise among you. Be perfectly united in mind and purpose.
And just as no human being comprehends any person’s innermost being except the person’s own spirit within him, so also no one comprehends what pertains to God except the Spirit of God.
Therefore, prepare your minds for action. Be calm and fix your hopes completely on the grace that you will be granted at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Let the wicked abandon their ways and those who are evil their thoughts. Let them return to the Lord so that he may have mercy upon them; and to our God, for he is rich in forgiveness.
Therefore, heed my words. Do not be concerned about your life and what you will have to eat or drink, or about your body and what you will wear. Surely life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
Through the grace that God has bestowed upon me, I advise every one of you not to think of yourself too highly, but to regard yourself objectively, based on the measure of faith that God has granted.
To him who in all things is able through the power that is at work within us to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus through all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Do not be concerned about your life and what you will have to eat, or about your body and what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
Those who live according to the flesh fix their attention on the things of the flesh, while those who live according to the Spirit set their thoughts on spiritual things.