Calling Attention

Many of us were raised with our mothers telling us not to air our dirty laundry in public – meaning it is better to handle issues behind closed doors. However, John shows us there is a place for exposure…even in the church. “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. 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” (3 John 9-10 NIV). While there is something to be said about doing things privately, a case can be made for bringing things out into the open. I especially appreciate John’s willingness to expose people and attitudes that are destructive to the Kingdom of God.