The residents of Calamba City, Philippines, have dubbed Herbert Chavez “the village superman.” Chavez earned this title by undergoing multiple surgeries to make his face and body resemble the famous superhero. He has even considered implanting metal in his legs to make him taller like Superman. While Chavez’s devotion to his hero seems extreme, many would agree, he did pick a decent example to follow. After all, the man of steel fought for truth and justice, and he was always leaping tall buildings in a single bound to rescue people!
Some members of the early church were in danger of following a character who was more like Lex Luther than Superman. The villain’s name was Diotrephes. In his quest for power and domination as a church leader (3 John 9), he refused to show hospitality to traveling ministers (such as John), and expected his fellow churchgoers to follow his bad example. He maligned John and kicked out congregation members who helped the traveling teachers (3 John 10).
With these troubling circumstances in mind, John wrote a letter to his friend Gaius, who was a member of this church in crisis. In his letter, he said, “Don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good” (3 John 11). And to clear up any confusion, John spelled it out: People “who do good prove that they are God’s children, and [people] who do evil prove that they do not know God” (3 John 11).
This situation serves as a warning to us because we may begin to mimic others’ spiritual examples rather than the example of Jesus Himself. While it’s appropriate to imitate godly people (1 Corinthians 4:16), our highest calling is to “imitate God” (Ephesians 5:1), and this is why the things we do and say should reflect the heart of Christ (Matthew 11:29) and the influence of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Luke 21:25-38
More:
Read Matthew 7:15-20 to see how a person’s actions reveal his or her heart.
Next:
In what ways are you more devoted to a person than you are to Jesus? Why is it sometimes dangerous to mimic the behavior of other Christians?
followingHim on September 8, 2012 at 4:48 pm
Diotrphephes was exhibiting cult-like behavior: exclusive sects regard themselves as the only authentic “Christian” bodies, and refuse to recognize the fellowship or communion of others. Certainly, we need to exercise discretion and affirm certain groups that are clearly nominal or pseudo-Christian, but we should avoid dividing over secondary doctrinal points.
Incidentally, both Marvel and DC comics are growing progressively (pun intended) “politically correct.” Marvel now has gay and Islamic superheroes, and, according a recent news item, Superman has (or soon will) go into the United Nations and renounce his American citizenship and declare himself a “world citizen.)
Great.