I Was Wrong

Wow. This blog rarely picked up hits. But in the last few days, there's been some real activity. This tells me that I'm just one of many who feel the pull to DO SOMETHING about slavery.

Do you feel helpless, overwhelmed, angry? I did when I first became aware of the scope of slavery, that it wasn't just in a brothel in Asia, but everywhere. It's probably here in this Bible Belt suburb. You know where this is going: "I'm just one person against a global evil. There's not much I can do!"

And that's where I was completely wrong. My friend, Bob, of Bob's Clapham Blog, had listed some organizations involved in this fight. Some were legal groups that work through the justice systems of various countries to free the oppressed. A few work in aftercare for victims. Others do job training or advocacy. The list goes on. And each organization is crying out for individuals to educate themselves about the problem and then do something—anything—to help. It became clear that one person could do a lot.

I am a print communicator and researcher at heart, so the natural place for me to start is by getting the word out. There might be something drastically different for you.

In the coming days, I'll begin putting up links to some of these organizations, listing some things to be aware of in your corner of the world, and explaining how I got here and where I hope to go. In the meantime, please visit the International Justice Mission's excellent site and the equally excellent Free the Slaves site. If you want more after that and I'm still not up to speed, Bob has more great links on his blog.

Will we ever see slavery completely abolished? Well, you've probably discovered that I believe in Jesus and His calling to minister to the oppressed in His name. I also believe that our world is hopelessly twisted and infected with an evil that will fight against good until the day Jesus returns to earth. As long as evil is in the world, some people will be so dark that they will enslave others. Right now, it's just too easy for them, and we need to make it much, much harder. This is part of my commission as a believer in Jesus. With His help, we can beat back this evil.

At the very least, if you pray, please pray about this issue. Pray for protection for the enslaved and for those who are literally kicking in doors to rescue them. Pray for the local group I've joined, that God will protect us from distraction, discouragement and disunity. Ask God to tell you if you need to act. Just tell Him your willing. He'll do the rest.

You can do something. It all starts with the step of willingness.