That’s as foolish as eating ashes! The mind of someone like that has led him astray. He can’t save himself. He can’t bring himself to say, “This thing I’m holding in my right hand isn’t really a god at all.”
You live in the safety of the rocks. You make your home high up in the mountains. But your proud heart has tricked you. So you say to yourself, ‘No one can bring me down to the ground.’
You were taught not to live the way you used to. You must get rid of your old way of life. That’s because it has been made impure by the desire for things that lead you astray.
Preach the word. Be ready to serve God in good times and bad. Correct people’s mistakes. Warn them. Encourage them with words of hope. Be very patient as you do these things. Teach them carefully.