Midway through his letter Paul tells Philemon "in Christ I could be bold
and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the
basis of love" (Philemon 1: 8-9). I'm struck by Paul's decision not to
compel Philemon to act in a certain way but rather to make a loving
request. It's reminiscent of Jesus' statement in the Garden of
Gethsemane that he could have called up an army of angels to defend him
from the soldiers seeking his arrest but instead he would obey and
accept his fate (Matthew 26: 53-54).
As Jesus says elsewhere, power is not to be used for lording over
others. Rather, the path to greatness is through service (Mark 10:
42-45). Paul, writing from prison, understands and embraces this
teaching to the fullest.
Was he successful? Did Philemon take Onesimus back in accordance with
Paul's wishes? To my knowledge, no conclusive evidence exists one way or
the other. But this is one case in which the ends themselves are much
less edifying than the means.
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