Philemon

This was a letter written by Paul to a slave owner by the name of Philemon; requesting him in a very tactful manner to forgive his runaway slave, Onesimus.  The slave had apparently stolen something from his master (v 18) and under Roman law, was punishable by death.  But somehow by divine appointment, Onesimus landed in Roman prison and met the apostle Paul, who led him to Christ. Paul must have convinced Onesimus to return back to his master to seek forgiveness with this letter he had written.  

Notice the way Paul organised his appeal in this short letter.  He started off by building rapport, affirming Philemon of his love to all saints, and certainly Onesimus is one of them now (v4 - 10).  Next, he appealed to his mind (v11 -19) and then to his heart (v20-21).  We can learn from Paul how to handle difficult human inter-personal relationship issues.  Often times, it is good to give positive strokes first before moving on to reason and then appealing to the heart to be more gracious and forgiving. Church history tells  us that Philemon responded with grace by receiving Onesimus back, who later became a bishop!

This letter also gives us a primer on how masters ought to treat their slaves.  Or in our day and context, how employers ought to treat their household helpers or maids.  Just as Paul wanted Philemon to forgive Onesimus for the wrong done to him, so likewise, we ought to forgive our helpers for whatever slowness of action they are so accustomed to back in their homeland.  Granted that some of our maids may not be so quick in their thinking or agile on their feet, these are no excuses to ill-treat them; for they are also human beings like us.  I often cannot help but think that maids who do harm to the people they're helping is because they've been ill-treated in the first place.  However, the law has been put in place to take care of situations whereby maids attempted or succeeded to physically harm family members.   In this case, justice will be served.  

One of the beautiful things that can be seen from the story of Onesimus is that there's hope for those who are given a second chance.  Slaves and maids are also people in need of a Saviour.  It took Paul to save Onesimus; however, one wonders whether Philemon has tried to reach out to Onesimus.  Praise God for employers who encourage their maids to go to church on Sundays.