Well at least that’s what a few of the people that commented on my last blog thought. My last blog was about my first face to face encounter with human trafficking. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, do so now or the rest of this blog won’t make since. Click the link below:
“A damn $20 bill”
quotes from the comments from my last blog.
“Maybe you saw shame in that young girl's eyes but you're the one who should feel ashamed for walking away and doing nothing to help her!” Person 1
“I read this story and am in complete agreement with you Person 1. How can you live with yourself? He is professing about Jesus…"help thy neighbor!" He should have given him the money and turned her over to the authorities! I believe he is just as guilty as that man for turning a blind eye! Shame on him!!!!” Person 2
“I know I would not have put my tail between my legs an ran!!” Person 1 again
TO be honest they bring up some valid points.
1.) Did I walk away and do nothing to help her? And if I did should I feel shame for that decision?
2.) Would have turning her over to the authorities helped this girl?
3.) Am I just as guilty as this “man” in my blog? And if I am, then do I deserve shame like they say?
4.) Did I run away from this problem? Was it because it was hard? Was I scared?
5.) If I profess to be a Christian then why didn’t I “help thy neighbor”?
ALL VALID QUESTIONS!
I could go through each question one at a time and talk about how they’re wrong? How they are coming at this from a very “middle class white America” Worldview where the world operates just as it should and nothing bad ever happens. How they make some HUGE assumptions about what the rest of the world looks like. I could talk about the geographic location of Cahul, Moldova and how they could have both been across the Romanian border in less than 5 minutes if something went down. I could talk about how Christ bore all my shame on the Cross so there is none left for me to bear, not even a little bit. I could bring up a ton of valid points myself but I’m not going too….
I’m my worst critic.
I’ve replayed that moment 1000 times in my head.
I’ve ran through every “what if”.
Every “could have” “should have” and “would have”
I’ve asked for God to give me another opportunity so I could go Liam Neison and get the girl in the white dress out.
I’ve prayed for God to rid human trafficking from the face of the planet so I never have to experience it again.
I’ve talked to God about what I did, about what He would have wanted me to do, about how he feels about this situation.
What have you asked?
What have you prayed?
Who have you talked too?
The white elephant in the room is not me. Its not these harsh blog comments. It’s not about my experience, which is very limited. It’s not about this specific incident. It’s not about Moldova, which is the hub for trafficking in Europe. It’s not about Thailand, which is the hub of trafficking in the world. It’s not about the world race.
It is about the responsibility that we all carry to do something. It’s about the girl in the white dress. It’s about the “man” who needs the Radical Grace of the Father. It’s about the estimated 12.9 million people who are forced to engage in sexual labor every day! 12.9 million brothers and sisters. 12.9 million people. Real people. Not t.v. charcters. It’s about them. It’s all about them.
You have a voice. You have earned the right to speak, use it!
You have influence. So who and what are you influencing?
You know people who will listen. Are you speaking?
We have a responsibility to see the days of trafficking come to an end. What are you doing?
But what about that shame? What about that shame that I deserve?
God spoke to my heart a little while ago and said that I can look for the shame if I want to. I can spend my entire 11 months looking for shame. I can look in Eastern and Western Europe. I can look on the east coast of Africa. I can look in India and Nepal. I can run and look in Cambodia and Malaysia. I can march down the darkest street in Thailand where I will see thousands of men, women and children engaged in trafficing and look. I can look for 11 months. But I’m not going to find anything. My shame has been dealt with. My shame was nailed to the Cross. There is no shame for me, Or for you if you are in Christ.
So I bless you. I bless you to do somthing. I bless you to GO. Step up, and step out. Go. Speak. Go and influence. Go and do something with no fear of regret, guilt or shame. You are free!
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
Romans 8:1
****This needs to be talked about. Please comment with your thoughts below. I would love to hear how this lands on your hearts. Good, Bad, and Ugly are welcome… Please share this on your Facebook wall or tweet it out to bring others into the conversation. Thanks all!****
