Text:

3 John 9-10 (NIV)

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes who loves to be first, will not welcome us. 10 So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

I remember when my oldest child was like 4 or 5years old.
One day she comes to me and says mummy I don’t want to be the oldest child in our family anymore. I want an older sister.
Her best friend then, had an older sister in the same school who spoilt her and looked out for her and so my own daughter wished she also had a big sister to give her that kind of special treatment.
So, I sat her down and taught her that there were somethings about us that we couldn’t change. Like who gives birth to us, who our brothers and sisters are and our position in the family. In other words, we are stuck in and with certain people!
So, the best thing is to make the most of our relationship and love the people God has put in our lives.

Likewise we have been called into a fellowship—both with Christ and with those who make up His church, we have been born into a large family of God so we are stuck with our spiritual siblings (the brethren) … so we should try our utmost to make our relationship with each other work!

The truth is that physically, we may not have a lot in common. We may be from different nationalities, speak different languages, come from different cultures, but spiritually, we have the same Father and that makes us spiritual siblings.

The disease of Diotrephes is the disease of self. It’s a disease of the heart. It is a me, myself and I disease that builds a wall and protects the kingdom of self.

Symptoms include…

  • Love to always be first.

This disease always like to put self, first.  My joy first, my peace first, my happiness first!

Paul says in Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

  • Withdrawal or Isolation

This disease also makes people distance themselves from the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ.

Genesis 2:18, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

  • Speaking evil of others

This disease also causes people to gossip and slander others.

Slander causes everything except that which is good.

James 4:11 ‘Believers, do not speak against or slander one another. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the Law and judges the Law. If you judge the Law, you are not a doer of the Law but a judge of it.

  •  Being unhospitable

Peter 4:9 says that we are to show hospitality to one another.

  • Hindering others or being a stumbling block….

This disease will stop people from doing the right thing and will even put people out of the church.

Romans 14:13 says 13 Then let us not criticize one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block or a source of temptation in another believer’s way.

Sometime we don’t put people away from church physically but with our attitude towards them does.

As with any ailment, one must not have all five of these symptoms to have the disease so we need to ensure to deal immediately with any that comes up as it has the potential to destroy our call to relate with the brethren!

Prayer:

Dear Lord, Please help us love the brethren as You have commanded us to.