This is especially so for those who follow their corrupt human desires, and contemptuously disregard authority. Arrogant and proud, they're not even afraid to defame heavenly beings.
I refuse to be part of their decisions; I refuse to participate in what they do. For they killed men in their anger; they crippled cattle just for fun.
A rabble-rouser called Sheba, son of Bichri, from the tribe of Benjamin, happened to be there. He blew the ram's horn and shouted: “We have no interest in David, no commitment to Jesse's son. Israelites, let's all go home!”
When all the Israelites saw that the king wasn't listening to them, they told the king: “What share do we have in David, and what part do we have in the son of Jesse? Go home, Israel! You're on your own, house of David!” So all the Israelites went home.
Don't talk badly about the king, not even in your thoughts. Don't talk badly about leaders, even in the privacy of your bedroom. A bird may hear what you say and fly away to tell them.
You people of today, think about what the Lord is saying: Israel, have I treated you like an empty desert, or a land of thick darkness? Why are my people saying, “We can go where we like! We don't have to come and worship you any more”?
Don't you know those who are unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Don't be fooled! People who are immoral, worship idols, commit adultery, are sexual perverts, homosexuals,
You know it's absolutely sure that no one who is sexually immoral, or commits indecency, or who is greedy, or is an idol-worshiper will inherit anything in the kingdom of Christ and God.
People will love themselves and love money. They will be boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, and without God in their lives.
As a leader for God, a head elder must have a good reputation and not be arrogant. He should not have a quick temper nor get drunk; he shouldn't be violent or greedy for money.
But these people ridicule whatever they don't understand; and what they do understand they instinctively follow like unthinking animals—this is what destroys them.
Such people are grumblers, always complaining. They follow their own evil desires, speaking boastfully about themselves, and flattering others to get what they want.
For some people have quietly crept in among you. They were written about and condemned a long time ago, for they are wicked people who pervert God's grace, turning it into a license to immorality, while also denying our Lord and master Jesus Christ.