Modern Slavery

Victory and its Victims

Blog_HockeyDie-hard fans braved threatening weather to witness the Blackhawks face-off for another championship. Even those who care nothing for hockey were converted to temporary fandom in time for the finals. Following the victory, multitudes swarmed the streets of Chicago for one glimpse of the winning team with their coveted cup. And I could only think of one thing.

There are young girls, even boys, being trafficked in celebration of one short-lived victory.

Ever since I found out that sporting events are among the largest magnets for human trafficking rings, I can’t glimpse a fragment of a game without mourning the countless victims waiting in the wings for the after-game festivities. How can we revel in the fantasy of athletic glory when so many are living a nightmare as a result? How can we root for any team if no one is rising to fight for the slaves suffering among us?

It’s beyond tragedy that we keep silent as an estimated 9.5 billion per year flows from our country into the torture of young innocents. As our sports heroes bathe in fame, fortune, and glory, our children are led as sheep to the slaughter. We invest millions in sports mania, blind to the billions squandered on the trafficking of our future. Will we continue to stand on the sidelines, watching in silence?

The Choice

blog_shackleschainsandfettersA life in chains is unimaginable from the vantage point of freedom. Nothing could be more horrific than to be taken by force from the life, land, and family you love. Even more inconceivable is that anyone would willingly choose a life in chains.

When faced with opposition to their desired mission among the enslaved of their time, Johann Leonard Dober and David Nitschmann asserted their willingness to become slaves themselves. If reaching slaves meant a life in chains, they would choose such a life. Their declaration? “We shall become slaves among the slaves.” The men were eventually granted passage as free men, yet still they chose to live humbly in a land of slavery to proclaim the gospel of freedom to those in bondage.

As I consider their selflessness, I have to ask myself if I’d willingly do the same. Does my love for others run deep enough that I would sacrifice my comfort and security for their freedom? These men got on a boat and traveled far to fulfill their calling. But we don’t need to get on a boat to find people in need of help, hope, love, and freedom. And we don’t have to travel far to be selfless.

As Mother Teresa once said, “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.” There are people among us who live in chains. Modern slavery is rampant in our own country. The enslaved reside in our own cities. Still, beyond that, there are people who live as slaves to fear, abuse, addiction, neglect, and more. How can we sacrifice, here and now, for the enslaved in our midst?

While the sacrifice of the Moravian missionaries was heroic beyond measure, we can follow their example of selflessness to free those in bondage right here, right now. We don’t have to wear literal chains to be enslaved to a cause. Our daily, selfless sacrifice can do more for the cause of freedom than we can ever imagine.
 
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” (Luke 4:18-19)

True Love…is SELFLESS (Day 45, #50ShadesOfTrueLove)

Freedom’s Cost

blog_rockingchairShe was finally free, but she refused to forget those still in chains. While she could have lived in relative safety, she chose to risk her life to rescue those bound as she once was. Harriet Tubman knew the danger she would face in returning to the place of her own bondage for the sake of those enslaved. Yet she considered their lives and valued their freedom more highly than her own.

Had I lived the nightmare she lived, I wonder if I’d so willingly return. It would be so easy to slip into obscurity, to hide in the shelter of freedom—forgetting those who suffered I once had. The prospect of losing my newfound freedom might overshadow the potential freedom of others.

What would motivate a former slave to risk life and freedom for the sake of others? This woman who endured such unthinkable hardships came through the furnace of affliction with great faith. She once said, “Twant me, ’twas the Lord. I always told him, ‘I trust to you. I don’t know where to go or what to do, but I expect you to lead me,’ and He always did.”

The same God who led her is the God who had heard the cry of the slaves in the days of the Exodus, who upon seeing the oppression of a people in chains spoke these words: “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them…” (Exodus 3:7-8)

True love sees the needs of those in chains. And true love hears their cries. But it doesn’t stop there. True love is compassionate. And true love rescues.

Slavery is said to have been abolished years ago, but it continues today. Thousands are trafficked and sold across our own borders. We have a choice. Will we close our eyes to the need? Will we ignore the cry? Or will we see, hear, and act in compassion? Because only true love can set a captive free.

True Love…FREES (Day 38, #50ShadesOfTrueLove)

Photo Credit: Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway | Bucktown Village… | Flickr

A Deeper Hunger

Harvest from Bing Images Katniss Everdeen and Anastasia Steele: two different stories, two contrasting journeys. Both are hungry. For one, this hunger leads to heroism, for the other, to the arms of a sadistic villain.

Though both stories portray a culture of brutal violence, there are glaring differences between the themes of the Hunger Games and 50 Shades. Katniss—the heroine of the Hunger Games, recognizes this culture of brutality as wrong, not succumbing to its pervasive evil. Instead, she hungers for something better. Her undying loyalty to her sister grows into a sacrificial love for her people. She will not bow to President Snow. And she will give her life to defend her people from his malicious plans.

In stark contrast to the Hunger Games, 50 Shades celebrates the culture of brutality, painting a deceptive picture that a person can fall into the arms of unabashed violence and emerged unscathed. The story attempts to normalize what is a nightmarish reality for millions of human trafficking victims across the globe.

Katniss’ hunger is driven by a love for her people. This love leads her to become a symbol of courage, saving her generation from pervasive evil whatever the cost. Anastasia’s insecurity leads her to find fulfillment in torturous, manipulative lust, and in so doing she leads a generation into the same deception that has entrapped untold numbers in abusive relationships, modern slavery, and the grave itself.

Mother Teresa once said, “The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.” How we go about satiating our deepest hunger will, in the end, determine whether we are filled or left empty. A hunger driven by selfishness will lead to pain; a hunger driven by selflessness will lead to life.

True love hungers for goodness. It hungers to protect itself and those it loves from the entrapments of deception and abuse, and to free others from lies, manipulation, and violence. The greatest hero of all time had such a hunger. He died on a cross so we could be free from the penalty and power of depravity. He died that we can live in a love that brings life, not suffering and death. God, change our appetites! Let us hunger for what is good. And let this hunger move us to act courageously to protect our generation, and future generations, from that which would seek to destroy.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6)

True Love…HUNGERS (Day 11, #50ShadesOfTrueLove)

Sincere Love vs. Hijacked Faith

Book of Love from Google Images Have you ever gotten fake likes on social media? The ones where someone “likes” your blog post, but when you check the stats you can tell they never read it? Or those “follows” on Twitter from someone promoting their business, CD, or book that go away if you don’t instantly follow back? Or the ones who add you on certain site to boost their own numbers—not because they’re interested in what you have to say? Yeah, it annoys me, too.

Just as there are fake followers on social media, there are insincere followers of the Christian faith. The Bible says that love must be sincere. Unfortunately, there are those who twist the faith for selfish purposes.

From what I’ve heard of the main speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, I agree on this one point…we should never seek to hijack religion for our own personal or political gain. And if we are honest about history, it’s happened in every faith. We need to admit that there are counterfeits of Christianity out there, and these counterfeits have twisted what was meant to be good into a man-made farce. The problem comes in thinking that because counterfeits exist, all must be counterfeit. In truth, having a counterfeit means the real thing’s got to be out there, we just have to take a closer look.

Jesus himself spoke of separating the sheep from the goats. They may look similar from the outside, but at closer glance there are differences. I doubt Jesus meant to pick on the goats, but in a symbolic measure they represent the bad guys—those who claim to follow Christ yet live in selfish ignorance. The sheep are the good guys, representing those who live what they believe in lives of sincere, sacrificial love.

Obviously, those in history who used scripture to justify slavery were the goats of the pack. They were as the evil, hypocritical Pharisees Jesus himself condemned in his day. Yet we must remember that multitudes of escaped slaves and abolitionists were people of a strong, true, and sincere faith (think Frederick Douglass, Harriett Tubman, William Lloyd Garrison, Harriet Beecher Stowe, William and Ellen Craft, Josiah Henson, and Henry “Box” Brown, to name a few). Their Christian faith persevered through great suffering and drove them to fight impossible odds for the freedom of all slaves. They were the real deal.

The end argument is that faith must be sincere, and is evidenced by love in action. Jesus himself admitted there were those who hijacked religion, so why can’t we? The existence of faith-hijackers is evidence there’s something real out there and we need to find it.

I think of how Jesus refused the opportunity to become an earthly king—knowing that loving self-sacrifice, even death on a cross was his calling. So if I’m going to look at what Christianity is all about, I’m not going to look at the hijackers. I’m gonna look at the one whose love was so sincere he was willing to die for the sins of the world.

We may not agree with all that was spoken at the prayer breakfast, but at least this whole thing brings to light that there are sheep and there are goats—counterfeits, and the real thing. As for me, I want to be counted among the sheep. I want my faith to be genuine, and my love to be sincere.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good.” (Romans 12:9)

True Love is…SINCERE (Day 7, #50ShadesOfTrueLove)

Love is…SAFE

Romans 13:10 from Google Images Dear, precious child,

Do you know how loved you are? You were specially created for this time in history, to do great things in your generation. You were uniquely designed to love and to be loved with supernatural, self-sacrificing, unfailing love.

My heart grieves for you. I’m burdened because you’ve settled for so much less than what you were made for! Love is so much more than what you know, so much greater than what you’ve seen.

Right now, there is a grave deception battling to turn you away from true love to a counterfeit replica. This imposter tells you that you lack value and worth so much that you deserve to be horribly abused and robbed of your very identity to gain any sense of intimacy. Please, hear this ancient truth: love will never bring you harm. Love is SAFE.

You do not need to be chained and beaten by a sadistic monster to gain true affection. Love does not manipulate you with fairytales of diamonds and penthouses and helicopters. Love does not seduce you with lies only to leave you tortured, broken, and alone. Love ALWAYS PROTECTS.

If you find yourself in a dangerous situation, you CAN walk away. Get out as fast as you can. The chains that bind CAN be broken. It’s better to walk alone than to be bound to a lie that will destroy you in the end.

And, please. Be careful what you see. Be careful what you hear. Lies most often come cloaked in light, poised to lure you in only to leave you blind. Don’t allow yourself to be entertained into the delusion that you are less than what you are.

Sincerely,
Love

True Love…is SAFE (Day One, #50ShadesOfTrueLove)

50 Shades of Love (the Sequel)

Blog_BlurredHeartsI’ve decided I’d rather be known for what I stand for than what I stand against. And what I want to stand for is love. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “I’ve decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” In a culture of hate, the temptation is to harden our hearts, but love is the only thing that can overcome evil.

We live in an age of tolerance, yet there remains much we should not tolerate—including abuse, racism, violence, and modern slavery. And yes, it is important to take a stand against such evils. Yet often in the process of fighting injustice, we fall prey to hateful, bitter hearts. We forget to confront the root issues—those things lacking in our culture and left in the void that contribute to the mindset behind injustice. And what is most lacking in our world? Love.

Our culture has developed a craving for abusive relational habits, such as those trending in modern media. And why? Because we’ve lost sight of the true definition of love, or we never knew what love was to begin with.

In a child development class I once took, we were told that instead of telling a child not to do something harmful or dangerous, we need to give them something productive to do instead. In a similar manner, we can warn others against engaging in media that promotes abusive relationships, but unless we find a positive alternative on which to focus our attentions, appetites will never change.

As a boat with no anchor is sure to drift, a life with no understanding of selfless, sacrificial love will drift toward abuse, racism, violence, slavery, and other destructive tendencies. If those who know of true love stand on the sidelines yelling, “Stop drifting. Stop drifting!” what good is it? What we need is the anchor.

There’s a game called “name the lie, insert the truth.” In the case of relationships, it is no game. The lie is that we exist to gratify our own selfish desires, or to enslave ourselves to the indulgent appetites of another. The truth is, we were specially designed for relationship based on supernatural, self-sacrificing love that builds one another up rather than tearing down.

I hate abuse, racism, violence, slavery, and similar evils because they dehumanize, demoralize, and degrade those made for a greater love and a higher purpose. But more than that, I want to stand for love—it’s power to heal, transform, and overcome. Over the next fifty days, I’m devoting my attentions to exploring what true love is—whether through a Bible verse, a quote, or an example of self-sacrificing love. My personal Facebook and Twitter campaign is #50ShadesOfTrueLove. Feel free to join me, if you want.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)