This week is the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the war-changing decree Abraham Lincoln issued on September 22, 1862, that declared all slaves would be free by the beginning of 1863.
It made me think of another document, one about freeing a slave, one written almost 2,000 years ago. I believe it says a lot about how to address someone who might disagree with you but who shares your faith—a pertinent lesson in this election season.
I’m talking about the biblical book of Philemon. It’s blessedly short, not much longer than this blog, and it’s the only letter we have from the apostle Paul written to a person, rather than a community, a rich believer named Philemon.
The issue? Philemon has a slave, Onesimus, who has become a Christian and has somehow landed in Paul’s care. A runaway slave? Perhaps. The argument is subtle, but Paul is asking for clemency for Onesimus. Although there are differences of opinion, it looks like he’s also asking Philemon to free his slave, “that you might have him back forever,” Paul writes, “no longer as a slave but more than a slave—that is, as a dearly loved brother.”
What is especially moving to me is that this revolutionary argument is made in the context of great love and prayers: From the beginning, “Philemon, I thank my God every time I mention you in my prayers…” to the end, “I hope that I will be released from prison to be with you because of your prayers.” Paul is in prison and prayer is what bonds the two men.
The message I take away during this sometimes rancorous election season: When you disagree with someone who shares your faith, you do it prayerfully. Whatever differences may divide you, remember—as Paul tells Philemon—that you are still “a dearly loved brother.”
