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¹ Listen cowboys and cowgirls, when I was with you, I had to talk to y'all like the greenhorns you were. You knew nothing of riding for God. You only knew how to ride for yourselves. You were like little kids. ² You couldn't handle anything more than a slow walk around the pasture being led every step. And the sad part is, you've still got both hands wrapped around the saddle horn like gunsels. You still aren't ready to walk by yourselves, much less ride. ³ Why? Because you are still being controlled by sin and emotions. You're all looking to one-up each other and you squabble like a pen full of squealin' mares. You see? You're acting just like the rest of the world does. ⁴ When y'all say things like, "I ride with Paul," and someone else shoots back, "Well, I ride with Apollos," can't you see y'all sound like gunsels?

⁵ Besides, who is Apollos? Who is this Paul you speak of? We're just cowboys who had the job of telling y'all the good news. We ain't special. We were just doing what the Good Lord told us to. ⁶ I did the groundwork with you. Apollos started you under saddle, but it was God who was doing the growin' inside ya. ⁷ The one who does the groundwork and the one who starts you under saddle both are working toward the same goal. ⁸ Each will be rewarded for their work in the process. One cowboy ain't more important than the next. ⁹ Both of us are just cowboys in God's outfit. We are gatherin' his pastures and you are these pastures.

¹⁰ Because of the grace of God, I have laid the foundations of a ranch like a top-notch cowman. Now others are working its pastures, but they must be very careful. ¹¹ Do not be misled! This foundation can only be the one that has been there since the beginning—Jesus Christ. ¹² Listen, everyone who works here will build their legacy with different materials—silver, gold, stone, wood, or straw. ¹³ But there will come a day of judgment through fire. This fire will reveal who took pride in what they built. ¹⁴ If their work survives, then that cowboy will be shown as a top hand. ¹⁵ But if their work falls apart, that cowboy will end up flat on his back. He will still be saved, but just barely . . . like a cowboy who survived being run over by a stampede.

¹⁶ Come on, cowboys, don't y'all realize God's outfit is all of you put together? Don't you realize the Holy Ghost lives inside ya? ¹⁷ God will destroy anyone who tries to destroy his outfit. God's outfit is holy, and y'all are his outfit.

¹⁸ So don't be pulling the wool over your own eyes. Wisdom doesn't come from clever ideas or fancy words. If this is your wisdom then you should try to become fools. Only then will you know what it takes to become wise. ¹⁹ What's considered wisdom down here is malarkey to God. Remember when the Good Book says, "He ropes the wise with their own reata," ²⁰ and another time when it says, "The Boss knows the thoughts of the wise and laughs at their stupidity." ²¹ So, no more big-talking and name-dropping. You don't need any human to gain all things because they already belong to you. ²² It don't matter if you ride with Paul, Apollos, or even Pete himself, you already have everything. You have the world, the past, the future, and even this present age. You've already been given everything ²³ and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.