Philemon-Restraint

Philemon verses 8 and 9 really seem to stand out to me today as I was reading through this letter. I think what struck me about them was the boldness with which Paul asserts his authority. We see this in verse 8 where Paul says that he has the confidence to order Philemon to do something. In essence, what we see is Paul saying I have a certain degree of authority over you to order you to do as I command. In doing this Philemon is reminded of his place in this world. This was important for Paul to establish because it sets the backdrop for the rest of his letter to Philemon.

Having established his position over Philemon Paul then states that he will restrain from using this authority and for love's sake chose to appeal to Philemon as opposed to command him. This choice is not unlike the choice God has made with us. Simple put God by His very nature has authority over us and could order us to worship (thus eliminating free will) yet He does not do this. God chooses, because of His great Love, to give us the choice to worship Him. He has thru His word, His actions and His creation gives us ample reasons to choose Him.

I believe the great lesson for us here is that while we may have the authority to do certain things does not mean we must always use it. I think this principal can be applied to any number of areas in our lives. I think this can be particular true in the church. There is a time and place for assertion of authority in the church but those instances are few and far between in a healthy & growing church. What we see in the church are times in which leaders must find a way, in love, to appeal to people to move into action.

This does not mean that we avoid challenging people and pushing them to do things wel outside of their comfort zones. We must always bestriving to challenge our brother and sisters to be bold and do things that will make them uncomfortable and require an even great reliance on God.