Often times we do not like to hear all the negative things that seem to be dominating our world. We tend to look the other way. We say to ourselves, “It is happening over there” or “It will not affect us.” We often separate ourselves from the problem and from learning about the problem because it can bring anxiety or despair. We do not want to have an open dialogue about it because it reminds us of the frailty of life and the overwhelmingness of the problem but silence and indifference will not change anything or move it away.
It is here that I would like to propose something, although right now the problems may seem to be “over there” at some point, it will be here. The Bible refers to the collective grouping of believers in Jesus Christ as the “body of Christ”. I would like to take this “body” metaphor and change the context. Let us say that this “body” represents humanity. We are all connected. We will all rise together or we will all perish together. Let me use an example, as most of you know my wife and I work (and have been working) in the areas of sex trafficking and refugees overlapping. We have worked in multiple countries and have spoken with Doctors, survivers (of trafficking), parents, advocates. We have been in meetings with Homeland Security, NGOs, the Police force, ex-Vice cops, and undercover detectives. In some of these meetings we have had the opportunity to ask the simple clarifying question, “So we are not educating children in school because of a lack of people to train or of resources it is because parents and schools do not want to make space for it to be directly addressed?” Affirming responses came from various corners of the room. This conversation took place at a meeting in the San Francisco bay where trafficking for labor and trafficking for sexual exploitation is a huge reality that is causing all kinds of problems.
Society (parents, students, schools, and churches) must focus on the family through education. People are willing to train and educate for free, taking the costs on themselves, to inform young people of the severity of the dangers that are walking down the same streets and yet…there is resistance.
Resistance from the very ones who want to love, provide for, raise, establish, cherish, protect, promote and rally after their own flesh and blood. All of these are great things. Children need to be taken care of. They must be provided for and protected, not only because they are apart of us and our future but because they are the present target. For the sake of their future, we must take care of them now.
This all brings me back to the body metaphor. If the leg is bleeding do we need to know about it as the hand? If the head is injured do we need to know about it as the foot? I would argue that every one of us would say “YES!!”. We know the value of the body. We know that if no action is taken that death could be the consequence. We understand that the hand must apply pressure to the bleeding leg. We understand that a gash in the head must be wrapped.
What causes us to respond and heal from a wound? It is the information that warns us of the risks. In our body pain is that warning. Pain tells us there is something wrong with the leg, “Arm take care of it”. In life, information does not have to come in the form of physical pain (even though the process of being informed often brings some discomfort). We have been given the ability to learn without experiencing pain, to learn from others and grow, while supporting those who have gone through the turbulence. This process of education is a blessing from God. Despite being offered the opportunity to experience life without pain, it seems that we just acquire knowledge of and decide to start paying attention after we experience pain (or are reminded of what it feels like). It is only at this point that we can truly and finally feel compassion for the pain, hurt, and difficulties that others are going through.
We can learn, grow, and pass this information on to save and restore those who have been hurt. For many survivors of human trafficking, the process of speaking out their story to save others from that same fate is what brings healing to their souls and gives them a sense of purpose. This process helps them to find themselves again and rediscover their identity.
Let’s talk about Identity here. One important thing we should be attentive to is that without a strong defensive strategy evil will spread. I do believe that the greatest offense is a strong defense. The best defense against evil is us knowing our identity. To discover our identity we must LEARN who we are. Knowledge is paramount and fundamental to our stability in this world. We must know who we are and about the world around us so that we may be able to stand strong and resolute when the evil comes knocking at the door.
There is a huge villain that silently robs billions of people of their identity. The need for validation and acceptance combined with the rapid advancement in technology has been taking our children, youth, and adults on a deceptive journey full of lies. A dark and secret place where people continue to deceive themselves with distorted values that do not strengthen but actually suffocates their soul and locks them in a place of isolation and loneliness. We must educate our children about it. I believe it is the number one destroyer of families…Its name is pornography. We must teach them to walk away from it before they come face to face with it. Again, the best offense IS a great defense. If you know that it is coming, you can defend yourself, and better yet if you can walk with someone through it. I cannot tell you how many people are now “hooked” on pornography because they never saw it coming. How can we stand in the face of evil if we were never taught how to fight it, told that it is coming, or shown what it looks like?
We recently had the opportunity to speak to some young people about the damages of pornography and the influence that early access to the internet has played in the lives of millions of children. “Here is the thing”, we told them, “People say that ‘With great power comes greater responsibility’ right?” They nodded in agreement. “The problem is that people do not realize the power that they carry, and because of this, they do not understand the responsibility they have as well. Back in the days of knights and kings, when you were knighted you kinda had to choose will I use my power for good and serve the king or will I do what I want to do?” and that is where we are at today. We have the power we just do not know our responsibility nor do we understand the consequences of the action that we take (or do not take). We MUST understand that we have been knighted. We have been called by the king to fight the battles in this world.
In Ephesians 6:10-18 Paul speaks about the armor that we must guard ourselves with. He speaks of a preparation process. He informed us of a battle that is coming. He is warning us so that we will be ready.
We must have that same urgency and focus as we look to our children’s lives today in classrooms as well as inside the church doors. We must prepare them so they may “Stand strong” against the enemy and his attacks; knowing fully and completely who they are and their real value. This urgency must exist so that, for our children and for the sake of future humanity, evil will be crushed and Truth will reign. Let us not allow our children to lose their identity by believing and fixating on the lies that this world feeds them. This is our calling…this is our destiny. And that is God’s heart.
https://sfgov.org/dosw/sites/default/files/3rd%20Human%20Trafficking%20Report.pdf
Care. Equip. Share. 