WCIPAI?

Remember the WWJD fad? Everything from bracelets to t-shirts to pencils to candy emblazened with the 4 letter question: "What Would Jesus Do?" The goal was to get people, especially young people, to stop and think before they acted. So in the midst of temptation you look at that rubber bracelet on your wrist and are reminded to look to Jesus the Messiah for an answer, and hopefully do God's will instead of your own in any given situation.
For me, in those moments when I get a chance to stop and actually think before I act, I turn to an entire book of the Bible. I find a complete book much better than an excerpt because the message is whole and intact and it speaks to me about how I should live, how I should proceed in any situation. So here is the entire book for you to read as well (I realize it is a whole book so take your time):

"Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced. Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good— no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.
So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."
Philemon (1-25) NIV

It is a short book, a brief letter from Paul to his friend and fellow worker Philemon in Colossae. So how does it speak to me? How does it help me when I am struggling to do the right thing? Look at the three main characters. You have Paul, writing from prison to his friend, and fellow Christian worker Philemon, likely a leader in the church at Colossae. The third character is Onesimus. A former slave from Colossae. Philemon's slave, who ran away. So what does it have to do with me? Where am I in the story? That is the question I have to ask. What Character In Philemon Am I? WCIPAI?
Am I Paul? Am I out there sharing the good news with the lost, even in my low point (prison in his case)? Do I offer myself as Christ did to pay the debt of my neighbors, my enemies?
Am I Philemon? Do I forgive those who trespass against me? Do I do the right thing by God, even when it seems to directly contradict what the right thing by the world, or the secular law is telling me?
Am I Onesimus? Am I out there answering the call and entering into the urgency that is the ministry that God calls me to, even when that means risk, perhaps even my livelihood, or even my life?
Onesimus has committed a crime. The penalty for his crime is death. He is a runaway slave and faces the death penalty if caught. Some would say his crime isn't a crime. Slavery is wrong and therefore his "crime" isn't really a crime...every justify sin the same way? Oh, this or that isn't really a sin, I'm not doing anything wrong and therefore I don't face the death penalty cause my action isn't really sinful. More importantly though, Onesimus is now being asked to return to Colossae (carrying this letter and also a letter to the Colossians, both of which will become part of the New Testament scripture) and face that death penalty. What do I face to do the will of God each day? Am I willing to face it?
Philemon has been wronged. He is being asked to forgive. He is being asked not only to forgive Onesimus for his actions, but also to forgo the penalty. Forgive the debt owed (A LIFE) for the crime committed. Doesn't sound terribly difficult but he is being asked to do it as a leader in a community where the community will view his action (forgiving a runaway slave and not only that, accepting him back as his equal and fellow worker) would be taken as socially revolutionary, even dangerous. Peer pressure would be strong against Philemon to do the right thing by Colossae and not by God. Philemon's prestige, his reputation are at risk. What will he do? What would I do?
Finally there is Paul. He is in prison and meets up with a lost soul in Onesimus and shares the good news with him. Onesimus, despite all the wrongs he's done, is saved by the grace of God through faith in the redeemer, Jesus the Messiah. Paul is in prison, his journey of faith has landed him in the pit that is prison and yet he sees opportunity even here! And then he takes it a step further. He offers his own life in place of Onesimus' life. He tells Philemon that he, Paul, would pay the debt owed by Onesimus, which we know is death. He offers to do just as Christ did for us upon the Cross, paying our debt in full. Am I ever like this at all? Do I see despair as opportunity? Do I offer myself in place of my neighbor? In place of my enemy?
WCIPAI? I start each day asking this question. Which Character In Philemon Am I going to be today? I then pray to God that he will give me the strength and courage to be all three when called upon to do so.