Paul is saddened because these believers are not living with the freedom as sons of God but rather living like slaves with their primary focus on rules (v8-11). They are not living in the maturity of faith or in the freedom Christ has died to bring.

Are you living as a Christian in joy because of your relationship to Christ or are you living as a slave always fearful of God striking you down or casting you away? Pray for your relationship to grow and mature in love.

Paul is sad here as he thinks of the past devotion of these believers to Paul which has now changed dramatically (v12-16). False teachers have damaged not only their relationship with God but their relationship with Paul. False teachers today are real, they can be very subtle in creating unease in people’s relationships with their church and their church teachers and leaders.

Paul is in great pain, like a mother in child birth, longing for them not to be taken in by the flattery of these false teachers (v17-20). We need to watch and take time to pray for those who have grown distant in our fellowship and maybe even have left because of lies shared by the devil and other people.