There are times when we know what we should do, but we struggle to follow through. The Apostle Paul confessed his struggles between his desire to do what is right and the frustration he experienced in his lack of follow through:

For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. (Romans 7:19)

The book of Philemon is a brief letter in which Paul appealed to his friend, Philemon, on behalf of a runaway slave named Onesimus. Onesimus had become acquainted with Paul when Paul was imprisoned in Rome. Onesimus became a believer, but, because he had run away from Philemon, Paul sent him back to Philemon with this letter. Paul revealed not only his concern for Onesimus, but he also challenged Philemon to extend grace even if it meant personal loss. Paul’s personal desire was to have Onesimus stay with him, but he knew the proper action was to send him back to Philemon:

I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart, whom I wished to keep with me, so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel; (Philemon 1:12-13)

Paul makes it clear that he would have wished for Onesimus to stay with him, but he was willing to suffer loss to do what is right. Paul did not tell Philemon what to do, but rather appealed to his sense of goodness to help a fellow believer:

but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will. (Philemon 1:14)

We see a significant contrast in this verse. The word compulsion hearkens to the thought of having to do something that I don’t necessarily want to do. Free will on the other hand implies that the act is performed willingly, without compulsion, and gladly. If Paul demanded that Philemon send Onesimus back to him, this could have created an unpleasant situation. Paul gave Philemon the freedom to voluntarily show grace to a brother in need.

We may struggle at times to do that which we know we should do. Paul wished that he could keep Onesimus; but he knew that he should send him back to Philemon. Onesimus would also learn that Christianity is not running away from our past, but resolving the issues of our past. All three of these individuals: Paul, Philemon, and Onesimus; were faced with a difficult decision. Paul was willing to give up a fellow worker in the gospel. Philemon would be losing his former slave. Onesimus was faced with the possibility of going back to his former master and not being with Paul. The decisions we make will reflect either a heart of fear or of a heart of faith.