Last month, in the United States, some celebrated Juneteenth. Juneteenth takes place on June 19th. It is the commemoration of the day when the last slaves were freed in the United States. After the American Civil War, there were still slaves that were never told they were free. As the Union soldiers marched through parts of the South, (Mainly Texas), they told the remaining slaves the news of their freedom.
Man was made in the image and after the likeness of GOD, and GOD does not condone slavery. GOD created man with dominion. HE gave man the freedom to choose right or wrong, and whether to live for GOD or serve evil. HE also gave man the choice of whether to accept Jesus and live with him forever or eternal damnation and the Lake of Fire.
Can we all agree that slavery is evil, and thankfully has been abolished throughout the United States and most of the world?
Well… not so fast.
Just recently, the movie The Sound of Freedom was released, and it was the number-one movie in the United States. The movie dealt with the subject of the human trafficking of children. The movie mainly focuses on how adults kidnap children and sell them to sex traffickers. The stolen children are then sold into sex slavery all over the world. Children stolen in the western hemisphere can end up in countries in the far east, or vice versa.
Human trafficking is a very lucrative business, and it is evil. Human trafficking is modern-day slavery.
In the movie, they used the example that if a drug dealer sells a bag of drugs, they only get paid one time for that one bag. If they sell a child for sex, they can get paid up to 10 times a day. The kids that must perform these unspeakable acts are not all teenagers. In fact, the children depicted in the movie were under 10 years old.
Some may say, that only happens in third-world nations, what does that have to do with me?
Well, the United States is one of the largest producers of child porn in the world. As a country that identifies as mostly Christian, this is unacceptable.
Over the last several years, the United States Government has been allowing hundreds of thousands of migrants across the border per year. Many of the migrants cross Central America on foot, in some very dangerous areas on their way to the US. These are people of all ages and nationalities.
I have watched videos of reporters filming the migrants’ trek across various countries in Central America, and I was appalled to hear the horrific stories of rape, brutality, and death that these people go through to get to the United States. Many of the victims of these heinous crimes are not only women but children as well.
At the US border, border Patrol has been so overwhelmed, that it has been reported that they stopped DNA testing on the children. That means it is difficult to determine if the children who are escorted across are related to the adults who accompanied them.
This issue is not about political parties and taking political sides. This is about right and wrong. This is about saving children from being terribly harmed by evil people.
What did Jesus say about what he thinks of children?
“About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
“And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf[a] is welcoming me. But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matthew 18:1-6 NLT).
Simply put, don’t mess with children.
As Christians, what is our responsibility in combating the human trafficking of children? Well, it’s two-fold.
The first is prayer. The Bible says, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we[d] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:10-12 NLT).
This evil is coming from Satan’s camp. Satan knows that children are pure in spirit. GOD has placed inside children the purpose and plan that HE has for them to complete on earth. Satan attempts to disrupt that plan by sabotaging their youth by harming them. When children are harmed in a sexual way, they lose their innocence, trust, and it changes their outlook on life. When children are free, they think they can do anything. And that is how GOD created them. That is destroyed when Satan uses wicked people to harm them.
We must pray more!
Simply put, Christians do not pray enough. GOD moves in the earth when HIS children pray. When we pray, we must pray for the will of GOD. Some are confused about what the will of GOD is. Don’t be. HE tells you HIS will concerning the children in Matthew 18.
So, pray that no harm will happen to the children. Pray that the angels of GOD protect them and keep them safe from danger. Pray that if evil comes their way, the evil will stop before it occurs.
Also, pray for those children who have been, and who are currently involved in sex trafficking that they are safely rescued from their captors, healed from physical and emotional abuse, and shown the purpose that GOD has given them.
Have faith in GOD and believe what you have prayed will come to pass.
In the Book of James, he says, “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” (James 2:14-17 NLT).
The second way to combat human trafficking is, we must put actions to our faith. In our prayer time, we must pray and ask GOD what HE wants us to do. Ask HIM how HE wants us to get involved. HE may tell you to contact congresspeople. Others HE may have joined organizations trying to prevent sex trafficking.
Sex trafficking is the slavery of today. How can we celebrate our freedoms when so many others are still in slavery? We are GOD’s Children, and HE has placed the authority of the name of Jesus with us. Our task is to keep Satan under our feet. But we can’t do it if we are laid back, and our feet are propped up in the air.
Pray and then do what GOD says. Help Save GOD’s Children!