February 21, 2023 | Be On Mission
Selfishness vs. Selflessness
Scripture: 3 John (NIV)
1 The elder,
To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. 3 It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. 7 It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.
9 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.
11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.
13 I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.
Devotional
In 1993 Charles Barkley was at the top of his game as a star for the Phoenix Suns when he said in a Nike commercial, “I am not a role model. I’m not paid to be a role model. I’m paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court. Parents should be role models. Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.” The reactions were all over the place.
Thirty years later we are still trying to figure out who our role models should be. Actually, 2000 years earlier the Christians in the early church were struggling with the same concept. In this short book of the Bible, John lifts up as few potential role models in the Christian community.
Gaius was the picture of selflessness. He was lifted up for his faithfulness to the truth of Jesus, which was no easy task considering the persecution going on under the iron fist of the Roman emperor Domitian. Gaius was also lauded for the way he showed hospitality to strangers who had come to town for some sort of ministry.
By contrast, Diotrephes was the poster child for selfishness. It’s hard to imagine how he had a following in the church. Maybe it was time spent. Diotrephes had a me-first, rumor-mongering, ignore-the-strangers attitude. John, the elder statesman of the early Christian church, said he would call him out when he visited.
In verse 11, John reminded the people, “Do not imitate what is evil but what is good.” There it is again. The challenge to imitate the right role models. Choose well, and your life steps will be on the right path. Choose poorly, and you will be headed toward a steep cliff.
In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul boldly said, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” There you have it. Follow somebody who is following Jesus.
Who is somebody in your life that could be a worthy role model?
Poem
Letter To Rejoice
My Gaius friend—I call “rejoice”—
To you I write with eager voice
Because your love of God is choice—
You minister to others!
You open up your home with care
And everyone is welcomed there
Each feels their burdens you do share
You minister to others!
And so, it is great joy you bring
Not just to me but to our King
For all your life is offering
You minister to others!
