“Forget about the benefits to yourself and consider the benefits to the other person for doing what you suggest.” Dale Carnegie

The art of persuasion rules the day in every legislative body. Whether it is a group of constituents asking their legislator for help, or a lobbyist attempting to convince a legislator of the righteousness of a client’s cause, or a legislator persuading a fellow member to vote a certain way, the art of persuasion is refined on a daily basis in our state and national capitols.

Think about this: Throughout the history of the Florida Legislature, each and every Speaker of the House had to convince his fellow legislators that a vote for him for speaker was the right thing to do. Of course, the best way to persuade is by letting the other person think the idea was his or hers - let them have ‘your way’ so to speak.

One of the core demographics of the Roman Empire of the 1st Century A.D. was the widespread use and acceptance of slaves. Slavery was woven into the social structure of the times as an acceptable implementation of the forced labor necessary to support the economy of the Roman Empire. If runaway slaves were mistreated in 19th Century America, one can only imagine the brutality shown to a captured runaway during the 1st Century A.D.

That did not make slavery right, but the institution was not something that early Christian leaders were ready to assail. The engrained nature of the institution dictated that the Apostle Paul be careful how he formulated the Christian response to slavery in general as well as how he dealt with specific issues, such Onesimus, the runaway slave, introduced in Paul’s Epistle to Philemon.

While in prison in Rome, Paul had apparently led Onesimus to salvation and enjoyed the voluntary service of Onesimus while confined in house arrest. It is presumed that Paul and Onesimus came to the decision over time that Onesimus had a moral duty to make things right with his owner, Philemon, who happened to be a leading member of the Christian church in Colossae. See, Colossians 3:22-25 for Paul’s admonition to Christian slaves.

Leaving an exhaustive treatment of Philemon to those who have dedicated their careers to its study, suffice it to say that in Philemon we have the outline for Christian advocacy, even the portrayal of Christ’s advocacy for us with our Father in Heaven.

Paul begins his advocacy for Onesimus in a subtle way by praising Philemon for his love for his fellow Christians and reminding Philemon that he has a honorable reputation in the Christian community.

4 I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and faith toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. 6 [I pray] that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for [the glory of] Christ. 7 For I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother. Philemon 4-7

Obviously, Paul is wise to put Philemon in the right state of mind before moving to the real point of the letter. Note that Paul’s praise for Philemon is not false or pretentious. It was a fact that Philemon had not only opened his home to serve as a meeting place for the church, but there was no doubt that Philemon was a ‘pillar’ of the church in Colossae in every respect.

Next, Paul makes the ‘ask’ but only in such a manner as to allow the answer to truly be Philemon’s free will decision.

8 For this reason, although I have great boldness in Christ to command you to do what is right, 9 I appeal, instead, on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an elderly man and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus, 10 appeal to you for my child, whom I fathered while in chains—Onesimus. 11 Once he was useless to you, but now he is useful to both you and me. 12 I am sending him—a part of myself —back to you. 13 I wanted to keep him with me, so that in my imprisonment for the gospel he might serve me in your place. 14 But I didn't want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be out of obligation, but of your own free will.

Allowing others to have ‘our way’ is the ultimate goal of persuasion. However, true, heartfelt empathy and respect for the perspective of others is the essential criteria for successful persuasion. Paul could have demanded that Philemon do his bidding, but he didn’t. That would not have been fair. It would have been demeaning and deflating to Philemon and risked stifling Philemon’s enthusiasm for the church.

Next, Paul shows he is serious by agreeing to pay and stand good for any debt owed by Onesimus to Philemon. By this Paul shows he is not expecting ‘no’ for an answer. He may also be calling in a favor owed to him by Philemon. But, most likely Paul is asking Philemon to weigh the value of Philemon’s eternal salvation provided through Paul’s ministry to the loss of a slave who had been out of service anyway.

17 So if you consider me a partner, accept him as you would me. 18 And if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self.

Just as Christ paid our sin-debt, Paul volunteers to take on the sin-debt of Onesimus. Paul signed the letter as you or I would sign a promissory note at the bank, thus showing that he meant to be bound by his assumption of the debt just as Christ’s death on the cross was proof of His assumption of our sin-debt so that our ‘account’ will be marked ‘paid in full’ when we stand before God.

Finally, Paul thanks Philemon in advance for his positive response suggesting that Philemon (as was probably true to his character) would go above and beyond Paul’s request. If there is anything we should be able to presume or assume about our Christian brother and sisters it is those character traits taught time and time again by Paul.

Paul’s advocacy for Onesimus is not unique in Bible history. For example, the story in 1 Samuel 25 of Abigail’s intervened on behalf of Nabal, her boorish husband, who ungratefully insulted David who then swore to kill him. Abigail talked David ‘off the ledge’ in a manner that would make Dale Carnegie proud! God must be telling us something. If we receive anything like the character of Christ when we are saved, we become willing to lay down our lives for our friends, or at least be their best advocates.

Of course, we don’t know the outcome of the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus, but like every Christian we can ‘know’ the outcome of their relationship with God. (1 John 5:13) This is true because all Christians of every stripe have this in common - Jesus Christ is our advocate with our Father in Heaven.

My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous One. 1 John 2:1

We have a better advocate than Paul and one better than Abigail; we have Jesus on our side!

Tags: Persuasion, Paul, Onesimus, slavery

11 Knowing, then, the fear of the Lord, we persuade people.

Recently, a friend asked me, “Johnnie, what do you know now, that you didn’t know before you got involved in politics?” It’s a great question. I think he meant was “What is the curse that comes with being a politician?”

At first blush, I would say knowing how inside politics really works is a curse of sorts. When I hear someone mouthing off about politics, I want to say, “Pal, you don’t know the half of it.”

Yet, the inside political experience is more than never seeing things the same way again. It’s the haunting knowledge that I am compelled to fight for the conservative movement every day for the rest my life - I have been persuaded.

Truthfully, I didn’t know that I would be come an ideologue, a ‘believer’ in the righteousness of the conservative cause, convicted to share the message of personal freedom and free market economics with others. It is life changing indeed, and being convicted, I try to persuade people.

Part of persuasion is telling your audience that they are going to be ‘glad to hear’ your message and that the listener will be ‘proud’ of his or her commitment to the cause. That is why the Ronald Reagan, the father of modern conservatism, became know as the ‘great communicator.’ The dynamic combination of his star power, self-effacing humor and palpable belief that government was not the answer, persuaded his listeners to believe and take pride in the conservative movement.

In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul continues to prove that he was the Christian ‘great communicator.’ Paul had established the church at Corinth, but in Paul’s absence dynamic, but shallow, group of teachers filled the void. As is typical, these false teachers attacked everything about Paul, even saying he was out of his mind. Beginning in verse 11, Paul is speaking mainly to those Corinthians who continued to follow his leadership, building them up and equipping his friends to defend Paul against the accusation that he was a crazy ideologue.

11 Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. 12 Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. 13

Thousands of ‘how to’ books on the ‘power of persuasion’ line the shelves of bookstores and pop up on an Internet search, but it doesn’t take an expert to know that sincerity is the key to persuasion. (That’s why Bill Clinton was a powerful persuader – because he was absolutely sincere about whatever he said at the time he said it, maybe not later, but when he said it!)
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Tags: Paul , Bill Clinton, divisions in the church, Persuasion