Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness.

If we look at Paul's life, it was not a set of short bursts of enthusiasm followed by periods of rest or pleasure. Life to Paul was a marathon - run from beginning to end. Like a marathon, we work for the Lord each step of our life, not when we will get accolades from the church, or when others are watching us. Our approval being sought is from God, not from those around us.

Our faith in Christ is the real essence of our life. Paul says at the end of his life: "I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). He had run the race well and finished. His and our strategy is set out in Scripture - Christians must handle the Bible rightly. It is the truth. We need to watch our tongue - gossip is a vehicle that leads others away from God; indeed into ungodliness. Paul also says in these verses that quarrelling about words causes harm - we are to avoid such quarrels.