Paul's Faith
While Paul was in prison in the book of Acts, he wrote letters. One of the letters that he wrote was to Philemon. He had been a friend to Paul and Paul respected him a great deal so much so that he entrusts Philemon with caring for Onesimus while Paul was imprisoned (Philemon 1:10). Onesimus was like a son to Paul and Paul trusted Philemon to take care of him. Onesimus used to be a bondservant/slave to Philemon and Paul was faithful that Philemon would take Onesimus back but as a brother. Paul even says if Onesimus does Philemon wrong or owes him anything, charge it to Paul. That is quite the extension of himself for the sake of the gospel as Onesimus. A very giving expression of love. But he also was so close and stayed faithful (Philemon 1:22), he wanted Philemon to prepare a place for him to stay once he was freed from prison. That takes a lot of faith in Onesimus (as he was a follower of Christ) and also in the power of prayer and faith in Christ to be released and not killed in prison.
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Your Boss in Heaven
One of the things I hate is when scripture is taken out of context. People love to say that the Bible endorses slavery with verses like Leviticus 25:44-46 (see Got Questions for more on slavery). I think people are assuming slavery at the times of scripture writing was the same as it was in America. Scripture gives regulation on slavery more so than people think and slavery then was not the same as we know about from America. Paul says, "Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven." That means remember that even though you have property do not treat them less than human. You could still be a slave owner that was loving. That thinking is so far out there that it makes people upset because the loving thing to do would be to free a slave. But slavery then was not slavery as it was in America, but that takes a history lesson. The point is that when you treat your "human property" a certain way, God will still see it and you should remember that. This goes for us that run businesses. This goes for us that lead our homes. This goes for us that are in charge. Treat other like you know that God will see everything.
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