In his letter to Philemon, the apostle Paul made an appeal to his brother in Christ about an escaped slave, Onesimus, whom Paul had converted. This was a wonderful thing for Onesimus, but it came as a result of his disobedience and treachery toward Philemon. This short missive is not intended to examine the existence of slavery, nor the fact that the Christian Philemon owned at least one.
There had, though been a change. Once, Onesimus had been “unprofitable to” Philemon, and now Paul wrote was “profitable to you and to me” (11). However, Paul was not willing to defraud his brother. By law, Onesimus belonged to Philemon, and Paul wrote, “But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary” (14).
As a means of appealing to Philemon, Paul wrote, “But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account” (18). This is a true case of going above and beyond based on love for another. It is the action of the Lord Himself, who died not for His own sins, but the sins of you and me.
How about you, are you willing to act in such a sacrificial way? It is one thing to say you are willing to help, but quite another to say, “put that on my account.” Typically, this might be something done for our physical families, but what about our brethren?
