Philemon 8-21

TEXT Fake it 'till you make it Like many other people I first heard this slogan at an AA meeting. The words bothered me. How could a support group based on honesty suggest that someone, especially a newcomer, fake it? The setting caught my attention. Here was a "business professional" in a tailored suit and loosened tie using this slogan to convince a social outcast to get up off his "bottom" and try again. The social outcast wanted to give up. The business professional was telling him it didn't matter what he wanted, what he did (coming to another meeting and confessing his relapse) would save him. Silk ties and ratty t-shirts faded into ambiguity as they dropped tears on each other's shoulders in a brotherly embrace. One blogger put it this way. Now, what AA's slogan taught me is that your whole heart does not have to be in an act from the very first moment in order for that act to be authentic. We may have an intent for something to be true and then bring it to life in our behavior; giving intention momentum through action. The letter to Philemon carries a similar message. Paul most likely renames Philemon's slave. Onesimus means useful. It would seem Paul hopes to change Philemon's view of Onesimus and perhaps Onesimus's view of himself. Paul presents a strong case to Philemon for accepting Onesimus back without punishment and for receiving him as a brother. It is not difficult to read the persuasion between the lines. But it is not selfish manipulation. Paul believes that people can overcome their sinful impulses by choosing to do the right thing even when they want to do the wrong thing. Self-denial, fasting, regular prayer, daily Scripture reading, these can all be done with a false heart. But, doing them when we would rather not does not necessarily make us hypocrites. We can't leave behind the decision to do what is right and healthy and good, even if we don't feel like it. Philippians 4:8-9