SCRIPTURE:
“I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us.”
3 John 1:9-10
OBSERVATION:
There is a saying that my mother would repeat to me often in helping me to understand the self-serving actions of people, “the law of the land is self-preservation.” She would go on to tell me that we see it in the instincts of animals, often as a means to survive, but more subtle in people, that goes beyond survival and more toward greed, power and malice. Here in the scriptures John calls attention to this in Diotrephes’ character of loving to be first and separating or putting himself above others. John continues as to how this character flaw manifests itself in being a malicious gossiper. How often do we find ourselves putting ourselves first before others, even if it means that others will be negatively affected, harmed or hurt? How often do we find ourselves caught up in gossip to feel as though we are in the know, or part of the elite or socially accepted, which most often is not edifying but rather a tearing down of one’s character maliciously. How often do we get caught up in excluding others and striving to be a “have” versus a “have not?”
APPLICATION:
By our carnal instincts, it is so easy to get caught up in putting ourselves first and therefore being self-serving or simply put, selfish; thereby opening the door to other negative attributes such as being manipulative and a gossip. I need to be on guard and careful not to get caught up in being self-serving and selfish or taking part in passing on things verbally that I hear, that are not edifying and therefore taking part in gossip to “wow” others or have social communication fodder. It will take having a filter to stop and think before I speak. I think of the situations and words like “oh really, well, I heard that …” Another is, “Did you know that …”
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, please help me to be mindful of the carnal nature within me and the principle of the “law of the land;” and therefore not to be self-serving, selfish, predominant in seeking position and stature, getting caught up in gossip, or being a social elite of the “haves” and “have nots.” Please give me a filter to know what may be kindling up within me, or a predisposition to “add fuel to the fire,” and therefore filtering out the wrong tendencies by thinking before I speak and rolling the tape forward of the potential consequences to others. I know that these are ways that I can walk my talk in spite of my carnal nature.
