By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
I tuhituhi atu ahau ki te hahi: otira kahore matou e manakohia mai e Rioterepi, ko tana hoki e pai ai ko ia kia meinga hei tuatahi mo ratou.
Na ‘ou tusi atu i le ekalesia; a o Tioterifi o lē ‘ua fia sili ‘iā te i latou, na te le‘i taliaina i matou.
I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us.
3 John 1:9
In 3 John, the ageing apostle writes to a dear friend, Gaius. If we read between the lines, we can see John saying, “Don’t be a Diotrephes”.
Diotrephes is probably in some form of church leadership. He has a lot of influence; John talks as though he can sway a whole church.
At one point, the church must have seen in him the qualities required to shepherd the church family. Now, his true character has come out. He wants to be first. He wants to be the focus. It’s as if he is building a fortress around himself and his leadership.
Notice the four ways he maintains his position and power.
He distances and diminishes leaders who could hold him accountable. He won’t welcome the Apostle John. What’s worse, he seeks to damage his reputation.
He fends off other believers. The text doesn’t say why, but if he is willing to reject the Apostle John, it’s reasonable to assume he would also refuse to welcome other believers who he thinks might be a threat to his position.
He stops others from welcoming believers into the church for the same reason. He squashes any attempt from other people to welcome those he is threatened by.
He forces his own people out of the church. People who he had once seen as friends and allies, who have spoken out in support of John, he now sees as enemies. He shuts them out because he doesn’t see them as loyal to him first.
It’s plausible Diotrephes believes he is protecting the church and preserving its purity. It’s possible Diotrephes has deceived himself and others into thinking that the ones he forced out deserved to go. Thankfully, John reveals the reality: Diotrephes is in the wrong. What he is doing is evil. And he alerts Gaius.
It’s easy to hear “Don’t be a Diotrephes” and think that’s easily done. Diotrephes had obviously strayed pretty far from the path.
What I ask myself after reading this passage is, “Is there anything in my life that is only in seed form now, but eventually could grow into a sin like his?”*. Diotrephes didn’t start out this way, or he would never have made it into his position of influence.
Do my everyday decisions welcome accountability or resist it? Do I move toward unity or division with other believers?
Diotrephes never understood that the church doesn’t unite around its earthly leaders. It unites around the gospel of Jesus Christ.
*This question is quoted from an article on bad leadership by Luke Simmons in Faithful & Fruitful.
