A Wealthy Poor Man and His Expense Account

How generous is your expense account? How large do want it to be? It doesn’t come out of your account any way. It bypasses your pocket.

Paul was encouraging Philemon to take back his runaway slave, Onesimus. Through Paul, Onesimus had accepted Christ and had become Paul’s “son” and “brother” in Christ.
Obviously Paul understood that Onesimus has wronged his master in numerous ways. Now paul says: “If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to my account” (Philemon 18).
What account? Paul was a man who owned very little on this earth. His possessions were just a change of clothes and a few books. But his “expense account” was huge.
Over the years, Paul invested himself by way of the gospel, into the lives of many people. Although Paul owned no possessions in this world, the investments he made into the lives of people had paid great dividends.
Wherever Paul traveled, he invested himself into the lives of others. He had no worries about his future or financial stability because he left a trail of highly valuable investments.
Paul said, “…I, Paul, will pay you back. I should not have to remind you, of course, that you owe your very self to me” (Philemon 19). Such life changing impact was the investment Paul made into the lives of people.
Possibly one of the greatest investments we can make are investments into people’s lives.
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