Don't You Like Us?

Don't You Like Anything About Us?
via Church of Christ, Hopewell, Virginia

"Your love has given me great joy and encouragement because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints." Philemon 7

A preacher once lived and worked in a large city and drove to a small country church to preach on Sundays. He had been preaching for this congregation for several months when an event occurred one Sunday night that forever changed the way he viewed his ministry. After a day of preaching and visiting with the brethren, he go in his car to head home. Before he could leave the parking lot, a woman in the congregation waved to him and walked over to speak to him. When he lowered his window, he could see that she was crying. He asked what the problem was, and she responded, "Don't you like anything about us?"

The woman's perception, which absolutely shocked the preacher, was that all the preacher ever said in his sermons was what the church was failing to do. As he drove home, in his mind he reviewed the sermons he had been preaching. He realized that though he loved the people in that country church, his sermons had been almost exclusively about what they were not doing. He resolved that night that he would be far more balanced in his preaching in the future. Christians, he now understood, needed to be affirmed in what they are doing right.

In the letter to Philemon, Paul had a difficult message to deliver. He had to consider sensitivities regarding government, law, culture, and economics. If his message would not be received well, it could create fierce anger and even split a church. Before he got to the issue at hand, he made a few statements to affirm what Philemon was already doing right. He addressed him as "beloved brother and fellow worker" (v.1) and told him that he thanked God for the way Philemon had brought him "much joy and comfort" (v.7) through loving and encouraging Christians in many places. Only after commending what Philemon was already doing was Paul ready to address what Philemon still needed to do.


Truth For Today Commentary: Philemon, pg 514-515