Lead With Humility

 

DEVOTION

THE 3^RD LETTER OF JOHN

LEAD WITH HUMILITY

3 John 9-10

9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. 10 So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

NIV

First, we have no idea who this Diotrephes is as he is not mentioned anywhere else in the scriptures. Second, there is some discussion among scholars as to this comment by John that he wrote to the church. We have no record of such a letter giving a recommendation to these brothers who were traveling with the message of Christ among the Gentile churches. It is thought that letter is lost. Some think the better interpretation of this is that John is saying that he would have written to the church, but the oldest manuscripts do not support that view. So we will simply stay with the fact the John had written a letter of commendation regarding giving hospitality to these brothers, but this Diotrephes got in the way of this happening, so John writes now a personal letter to Gaius to make sure these men get cared for as they should. Although we do not know much about Diotrephes, we do know about individuals like him. However, before we explore that idea, we need to make sure we never take on that attitude of this fellow, for he stands against any authority, wanting instead to be the authority. We do not know if he is actually an office holder in the church, such as a deacon, or board member, a trustee, or perhaps even a pastor, or just a wannabe leader. Again, we do not know about this particular person only that John says he wants to be first, which does indicate he wants to have the authority in manners that he may not deserve. He wants to exert his influence over the church for his benefit and not for the advancement of either the church or the gospel. He speaks against John, spreading gossip of the wrong nature. We have met such persons in churches throughout our journey on the path of following Jesus. We have seen how destructive they can be, first to themselves and their journey, and second, to the health of the church. They too desire to exert their influence on the church, keeping it from doing those things which would both aid the gospel, as well as aid others in their journey. We have seen whole families who because of their wealth and large giving in the church feel they should have greater influences then others.  John says that if he does visit this church, he will call out Diotrephes on his behavior. That certainly fits right in with what Matthew writes about seeing a brother who is caught in sin. Would it have been and still is appropriate to call out these individuals when and if we encounter them in our future walk in Christ? We will just have to let the Spirit guide. But at the same time, we have to make sure we do not let this kind of attitude invade our thinking, our heart, and remain in Christ, remain humble before the Lord and men. Should The Lord gift us with any area of leadership, let us lead with humility.