3 John - final week
Where have we been?
When Fish and Friends Stink
Benjamin Franklin once wrote that after three days fish and guests stink. This was a thinly veiled way of saying that no one should stay with someone else as a guest any longer than three days. Perhaps this statement reflected Franklin’s limited capacity for hospitality rather than any great truth. The truth is that some guests “stink” before three days are up, and others never seem to overstay their welcome. We ought not to take our cue about hospitality from our own limited capacity. Rather, we ought to do what is right for other people.
When John wrote this epistle, travelers were dependent on the hospitality of other people, since hotels and restaurants were extremely rare. When Christian preachers traveled to spread the gospel, other Christians were expected to support their ministry by offering them hospitality. This was right, and it was also a rewardable practice. Those who offered hospitality participated in the travelers’ ministries and received a reward for doing so (
