FAITHFUL

3 John


When I was working in the prison system, I worked on several different units with several different people. There were those who were a joy to work with, but there was one that no matter what I did couldn't stand me. I tried to be the same with everybody no matter what and in doing so, some of us worked well together while one didn't work together with anyone.
We run into things like this all the time in many situations. There are those people who hear what we say and those who hear but don't listen.
I think that this is what was going on here between John and Gaius, and John and Diotrephes.

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.

9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us.
10 So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

Both men seem to hold positions of leadership, one listens and is faithful the other, not so much.
How did this come to be? I dunno. But there is a definite difference between the two.

5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you.

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.

Quite a difference between the two guys isn't there? To me it looks like John is trying to contrast the way we are supposed to act once we have the Holy Spirit within us, and how we acted before coming to know the Lord.
Diotrephes is the example of how we were, thinking that we are in the right, not listening to anyone. He is shown to be very egocentric and doing whatever he feels. And Gaius follows God and does the right things for others.
That's what we are supposed to do be faithful and treat others well. To put other's interests above our own.