A dear friend and sister in Christ (Katie Mumper) messaged me last week and asked me to write something to promote an anti-slavery movement. At the time, my mindset was merely to help a friend with something she's passionate about. I mean, slavery and sex trafficking, while awful, doesn't affect me or most of my immediate circles, so it's often out of sight, out of mind. Besides, my job is to make Jesus known... not to stop the sex trade or child labor.
I'm convicted and humbled at how I don't often respond with deep sadness, nor action to stop it. My prayer is that God will soften my heart more and more, and that as I respond in faith to the call that we should seek to love those in need, my heart will also soften.
But a question that I have is, how do I actually make a difference? Here are a couple of thoughts:
Learn more about the slavery going on: Go to this website to learn more: http://enditmovement.com/learn
Search the scriptures to see Jesus' care for the physical needs of His people: In Luke, when John the Baptist asks if Jesus is truly the messiah, Jesus replies with a passage in Isaiah. His point in it, is that physical needs are being met (the blind now see, the deaf now hear) as well as the spiritual. In fact Jesus often uses the physical to teach about the spiritual. So while we should ALWAYS be concerned for the souls of men and women and their eternal salvation through Christ, we also need to deeply consider how to care for the physical needs as Jesus did as well. (James 1:27, Hebrews 13:3)
See yourself as a constant influencer: Do you realize that if you choose to fight against lust, you actually are working against sex trafficking? That if you encourage other men and women to stop looking at pornography and to stop lusting, that we can change the culture as one who abuses women and men, and instead one who seeks to care for them and treat them as equals? Or that as you let other people know about how we can end slavery, you are enlisting more people in the fight through prayer, giving, and even devoted workers to stop the industry?
Pray for the church, and for God to work globally: God can end slavery, and He ultimately will when we are in heaven! And as we fight and pray, the culture of slavery will shift as we as His people pray and ask Him humbly. We as believers can also look to the hope of heaven, and that we are seeking to make this world as much like heaven, so that people can see the grace of God and turn to Jesus!
In His Grace,
Zack
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