| Philemon 1 "Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer."
The relationship of Philemon, Onesimus, and Paul is one that reminds us of our relationship to God and to others. Paul called himself "a prisoner of Jesus Christ" and Philemon a "fellowlabourer." Paul asked Philemon to receive and treat Onesimus, Philemon's unprofitable runaway slave, like he would receive and treat Paul. You will not see others as "fellows" until you see yourself as a prisoner. Do you see yourself as a slave owner or a slave? Your answer to that question will determine if you feel entitled or grateful. It is easy to feel irritated, disrespected, overlooked, or wronged by others when you see yourself as "owning" and someone else as "owing." However, when you owe and God owns, that completely changes everything! Philemon was laboring under the impression that he owned and Onesimus owed. The fact was, Onesimus could have never owed as much to Philemon as Philemon owed to God! Don't spend your day living under the impression that you own everything and others owe you. That is a recipe for frustration, conflict, and emptiness! Go into the day under the impression that you owe others and God owns you and everything in your day. You don't own; You are owned. An attitude like that will certainly make your day better, brighter, and beneficial!
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