3 John

Read this first: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=3+John+1&version=NIV

2 books of the Bible in two days! Good job guys! It does help that they are the two shortest, this one seems the most like a personal business letter out of any scripture and it’s very specific so I did watch this video: https://www.bible.com/videos/3119-1-3-john-the-bible-project made in Portland to understand it better. If you haven’t watched any Bible project videos you should! They’re great for watching before you dig into a book of the Bible so you know more of the context.

Essentially John the elder is writing to Gaius a member of Diotrophes church who’s acting like a dictator and preventing some of John’s friends from traveling in the area. John isn’t a fan of this but he does like Diotrophes faith. So he’s working some angles to keep everyone happy. This may seem sad and wrong even to modern ears but if you work on the church- you know this is all too familiar. How do you work with one person who doesn’t want to work with another? Or one person has crazy ideas about end times and another extreme views on creation- what will happen when we put them in the same room to discuss church finances? No one knows. You juggle people and ask them to Love God and his people and know their heart is in the right place so the rest of is details that need to be worked through, but through a shared love of Christ working relationships can be formed.

He starts by buttering Gaius up a classic church worker move before asking them to do something. Members when I start to butter them up and compliment them sometimes will stop conversation and say, “What do you want?” and I’m like oh you don’t want to hear more good things about yourself? Well that’s sad.

The book can be summarized in a couple words- show hospitality, continue to walk in the truth. Surprisingly this can be hard. As we’re all spending a little more time on the internet I’m reminded that the default on twitter, facebook, and youtube comments is typically anger and putting opinion before person. Which is never good. There are things people would never say in person when you’re hiding behind an avatar of pikachu that suddenly become ok online. Hospitality is more than having extra snacks and drinks in your house when someone randomly comes over.

Hospitality is seeing a person instead of a problem. The person isn’t taking away from your work. The person is adding to your life. The person isn’t work either nor a problem- they are someone God has put in front of you to love.

Don’t let people get in the way of your faith. Don’t let work get in the way of your faith. May your faith change and enlighten the way you work and the way you interact with others. May you do both with the love of Christ!