If 2 John is a calling to be vigilant, then 3 John is a warning that hyper-vigilance is equally scary. It seems that Gaius, a head elder or pastor, moved into a community and was doing a bunch of good work (verses 3-6).
However, the thorn in his side was Diotrephes, a leader who was pretty strict about who was allowed "in" and who was kept "out." He was so vigilant, in fact, that he kept some of John's people on the outside. John suggests some more well-balanced leadership.
The problem is tribalism. Consider for a moment the books you read. One thing the publishing industry doesn't hide very well is that there are very tight circles of approval that exist. You can prove this just by looking at the books you read. Are they all endorsed by the same group of people? That may be a sign of tribalism. Do you tend to only read/watch/listen to programming that already lines up with your belief system? That is also a sign of tribalism- and it can be dangerous.
In our vigilance to "protect ourselves," sometimes we take good perspectives that need to shake us up and refuse to listen to them. After all, God is bigger than our best perspective, and so God's Word often shakes us up a little bit (at least). If we are unable to process anything that we don't already believe, transformation will be impossible. So open yourself up today to be shaken up, expanded, transformed. And I will too.
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