If you have been following along the past few days you will know that we are exploring the request made from Paul to Philemon for Philemon to accept Onesimus onto Philemon’s team. This message came in the form of a letter. In this letter Paul makes a tough request but he doesn’t do so before ensuring that Philemon knows that Paul both respects and cares for him. After telling Philemon why he can’t be there live in person to talk to him, Paul tells Philemon how much he cares for him and gives him lots of praise…all before he makes the request. We see this in verses 4, 5 and 7. Verse 4 and 5: “I always thank my God when I pray for you, Philemon, because I keep hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people”. Verse 7: “Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people.” There is a great leadership lesson in here that as people who might manage others or lead projects or teams, we need to remember that showing care for another person and providing praise, before asking something of someone, goes a long way. How often do we just rush into a conversation, fire off an email or text message and we do so without ever stopping to recognize the other person and give a little praise and care first? I suspect that we probably do so more often than we want to admit? And we all know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of one of those messages, when we stop and say to ourselves, “C’mon couldn’t you just have said something nice first?”. This is not a hard lesson to learn, but a hard lesson to practice. As we work through our purpose in our work, to bring glory to God, we can remember even more diligently that the care and praise that we bring to others can be the reflection of how God is working through us into our jobs and our own work. So, before we ask of others, be like Paul and dish out a little care and praise onto the other person first. For sure the message will be received more openly, but better yet, the person will feel built up and encouraged. What better feelings can we bestow on others who work with us?

Reference: Philemon 1: 4,5 and 7 (New Living Testament)