Why can’t we work together? (1)

‘Diotrephes, who loves to have the pre-eminence among them, does not receive us.’ 3 John 1:9 NKJV

Reason one: insecurity. The Florentine philosopher Machiavelli said, ‘The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.’ Insecure leaders are threatened by talented individuals, so they surround themselves with weak people. As a result, the work suffers, and everybody involved suffers too. When a leader responds to a genuine question by saying, ‘How dare you challenge my authority,’ they’re dangerous and often not worth following. Insecure leaders usually fail for two reasons: they want to maintain control over everything, or they’re afraid of being replaced by someone more competent. Either way, leaders who don’t encourage teamwork weaken their own potential and discourage those around them.

US President Woodrow Wilson said, ‘We should not only use all the brains we have, but all that we can borrow.’ John the Apostle tells us that Diotrephes, a leader in the church, ‘loves to have the pre-eminence’. What was this man’s problem? He wanted to blow everybody else’s light out in order to let his own light shine. So, John writes: ‘This is why, if I come, I will remind him of the works he is doing, slandering us with malicious words. And he is not satisfied with that! He not only refuses to welcome fellow believers, but he even stops those who want to do so and expels them from the church. Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God’ (3 John 1:10-11 CSB). Let God’s approval—which you already have—make you secure!