“…yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ…”
yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—
Paul sent the runaway slave Onesimus back to Philemon from Rome with a letter to Philemon. Paul makes his appeal to Philemon to forgive Onesimus on the basis of Paul’s love for Onesimus and Philemon’s love for Paul. Paul does not pull rank but makes an appeal based on his status as a troubadour for the cause of Christ.
PRINCIPLE:
Love is a much greater motivator than coercion.
APPLICATION:
Love goes much further in negotiations than acid. We have the carnal option to scream and hostilely set forth our case, but it will most likely boomerang on us.
I am touched by this beautiful characteristic of Paul.He pleads on the basis of love.He shows courtesy and respect to Philemon,who was of course led to Christ by Paul.Because of his age and because of his imprisonment for the sake of the Gospel,Paul has the authority and could have commanded Philemon to do what he wanted to do.But he did do like that.-It is a very good life lesson to follow.
I agree that love needs to be the force of motivation but i can't help wondering if in situations that i encounter if having faith in that person is shown more by not mentioning the possibility of force. Ie. I trust you but I will force you if necessary. This lacks faith in that person.