3 John – Day 3

Read 3 John 9-10

If Gaius is an example of hospitality and participation in ministry through his time and resources, then Diotrephes is the opposite. Gaius was faithful, loving, and a model for the church. Diotrephes seems to be a church leader, but his motives as a church leader were selfish. John tells us that Diotrephes weakness was his “love to be first” (3 John 9).

The danger of being a leader is that power often corrupts. It often turns inward and selfish. We see it happen on a regular basis. We see it happen when politicians go to Washington with the intention of serving. When they get to Washington the power and the politics often mix with their original motive. Having one’s name in the news of the world can be quite the ego trip. Some politicians become successful and get access to the most powerful people in the world. In such situations, money, power, and position take the place of service. The same thing happens to lesser extents on state and local levels.

It also sometimes happens in the church when pastors, evangelists, and ministers are successful. Some ministry leaders have grown ridiculously wealthy as their ministries experienced growth. In addition, these ministers often have significant authority over the lives of people.

The things mentioned above are dangers in all walks of life. Everyone can misuse their status, authority, and positions for selfish reasons. Parents can treat their children as pawns to make them look good. Students can push to be in the popular crowd by tearing down other “weaker” students. The workplace can be a place of competitiveness and competition where people take credit for other people’s work or where people throw each other under the bus. Business owners can tear down their competitors or falsely promote themselves through gossip and intimidation. The cycles never end.

In John’s third letter, John points out Diotrephes’s jealous and unloving heart. John points out Diotrephes’s refusal to show hospitality to other ministry workers because “be the one in charge.” It’s possible that Diotrephes was worried that other people might move into his territory. Diotrephes’s ministry had turned inward focus. It was no longer about Jesus and God’s work. It was about him. So he gossiped about his fellow ministers (3 John 10) and refused hospitality to the very people he should have been working with, not against. He even kicked people out of the church whenever he felt threatened. Ugh… may it not be so!

Application:

You may not be in a position like Diotrephes, but all of us have to deal with our own tendency to think about ourselves and to “put ourselves first.” Marriages often experience conflict because one spouse or the other is being selfish and undermining their own marriage.

Any area of life, marriage, work, family, or ambitions, can become a bed of selfishness. We all need to look inward and ask, “is this all about me?”

1. In what areas of life do you struggle with selfishness or “wanting to be first?”
2. How can you put God and God’s work in the world first?
3. How can you live out a spirit of love and hospitality in life (work, friendships, marriage, parenting, church family, community, etc.)?

Consider writing down a key verse or verses from today on an index card or small piece of paper and carry it with you today. Look at it as often as you can as a reminder of what you learned today.

Possible Verse: 3 John 9