In the beginning of today’s reading Paul talks about having to work harder than the other apostles to preach the gospel. Paul is not boasting, he is simply explaining the hurdle he had to overcome because of his past life as a persecutor of the early church. In 1 Corinthians 15:10 he says, But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Because of our past we are sometimes forced to work hard to overcome the perception of others. This has nothing to do with the grace God has granted to each of us. As Paul stated “by the grace of God I am what I am.” Who we are is established by God and not by men. Men are always welcome to their opinions, but that is all it is… an opinion.