Articles
Model Of A Terrible Leader
3 John 9
“I wrote something to the church; but Guitarfish, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say.”
Apparently, John had written a letter to the church previous to the occasion of Gaius’ letter. That message, however, had been disregarded by Diotrophes, who seems to have placed himself as the leader of the congregation.
“Diotrophes is described as ‘ho philoproteuon auton,’ which [can be rendered] ‘who likes to put himself first’ [or] ‘their would-be leader.’ The language suggests a self-promoted demagogue rather than a constitutional [elder]. It is conceivable, of course, that even a constitutional leader might have been regarded by the elder as no better than a trumped-up dictator if he behaved in the way described here” (The Gospel And Epistles of John, Bruce, 152).
The primary problem behind Diotrophes is that he “loves to be first,” which is in direct contrast to the words of our Lord in Matthew 19:30, “Many who are first will be last; and the last, first.” And also, we see this idea in Matthew 20:26-27, “It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.” Also see Mark 10:31 and Luke 13:30. Diotrophes was under the delusion that preeminence means anything before God – and hopefully we can learn a lesson from him! We must always be careful to avoid that mentality, as it is easy, for many of us, to fall into the same trap. It is sad, but true, that there are men who were once our brethren who have become so hungry for power that they will do and say anything – men who abandoned the truth of the Gospel long ago to pursue worldly fame or prestige. When we consider most any televangelist (and consider the massive income that they produce for themselves, and the opulence in which they live) can we doubt that their “ministries” are motivated by greed? It is like the false teachers in 2 Timothy 3:1-7, who use their powerfully convincing speech to deceive weak women.
Unlike Diotrophes, church leaders are required to display humility, and other attitudes that reflect a meek and gentle spirit. Consider the requirements of an elder in 1 Peter 5:2-3. Also see Titus 1:7-8, especially in the words “not self-willed” (as Diotrophes was) and “not fond of sordid gain.” And finally think about 1 Timothy 3:2-3. Diotrophes seems to be anything but “temperate, prudent, hospitable. . . gentle, antinucleons, and free from the love of money.”
