The will to act…

 
During our time in Asheville we met with “Anna,” a woman who was a survivor of sex trafficking.  She recounted her story of how she was manipulated into prostitution and forced to stay.  As she shared her heart with us, my own heart experienced a number of emotions.
 
GRIEF
 
During her testimony, I was filled with moments of grief.  Grief as I heard how this pimp would beat her senseless as she attempted to call home and shout profanities at her mother on the other end of the line.  Grief at how he and other men used their manhood to break her spirit; how johns would beat her in hotel lobbies and people would just ignore the violence.   Grief at how this pimp and others used johns to gain her trust and offer her hopes of freedom.  Grief because there is now way to empathize with that level of pain and no explanation that will justify a “why.”  Grief at how hopeless she felt at time and how she felt as if she was in a pit of darkness.
 

ANGER
 
As I heard of the abuse she went through from the john, pimps, and even the police, it stirred up anger.  I listened to the story of how she was manipulated into working for a pimp,  how he would affirm her beauty and worth as a way of getting her to sell herself.  Anger because it’s still going on today.  Anger because, for most of her life, she believed a lie “that this was the life she deserved because she chose it.”  Anger because so many men confirmed that lie.

 
GUILT
As I sat and listened to her story, I heard the many ways her first pimp used to lure her into his control.  It dawned on me that he twisted many of the ways that men are supposed to act toward women.  This man affirmed her beauty and told her she was worth more.  There is guilt because “good men” have allowed the art of wooing a woman to fall into the hands of criminals and twisted men.  Guilt because – maybe in my own brokenness – I may have misused such abilities of man – perhaps not to the villainy of these men but to a degree that may have brought harm to others.
 
 

FEAR

There is a fear because I know that with out Christ I can do terrible things. That without the love and power of Christ no matter what my upbringing I have the same potential to be a John or a trafficker. That if I give into my anger I can create brokenness from my own brokenness. Fear because if my anger is in the form of rants and without love and desire to bring men to Christ then I become a vigilante only out to make my self feel better. That in my brokenness I seek to only make myself feel better. I have the ability to do great things and I should have a healthy fear to keep me from squandering my life for selfish gain.
 

 

 ANGER

My emotions switched to anger again. The Holy Spirit reminded me that, through grace, my past no longer defines me.  Anger because for far too long we have the Devil dictate masculinity.  For far too long, men have been passive.  I am angry that this woman’s story is happening again and again with other young girls in America.  Anger that the system is broken, and these women are being treated more like criminals than those who have preyed upon them and victimized them.  The anger Bruce talks about is a righteous anger, an anger that transcends rage and drives one to action.  This is an anger that allows one to push through the past and move into action.  Anger inspires change, like the story of Jesus and the moneychangers in Matthew 21.  Anger just like there are men who have allowed temples of the Lord (1 Cor. 6:19-20) to be turned into dens for robbers (Matt. 21:13). 

 
The Will to Act
 
 
Fortunately, women like “Anna” are getting the help they need.  Those who are fortunately enough to be set free from this horrific cycle able to live in safe places where they can heal – places like Hope House in Asheville. 
 
Men, we need to rise up and take action.  We need to become the men God created us to be.  It is not just to be angry about this issue if we refuse to act.  We must act where our father and fathers’ fathers have failed and dropped the ball.  We need to courage to initiate boys into manhood and care for women in a Godly manner.  Men, we must act with our words, our action, our thoughts, our hearts, and our lives.  We cannot sit on the sidelines as women take up this fight.  This is our fight, too.  When it comes down to it, the root of this problem is brokenness in manhood.  Somewhere along the way, the men caught up in this bondage were fed a lie of what true manhood looks like.  Trafficking is a men’s issue, caused and driven by men and can be ended by the power of one man . . .Christ and the men in which he resides.
 
For more information on Hope House:
Hope House/On Eagles Wings – Asheville, NC
www.hopehousenc.com, www.oewm.net
P.O. Box 9737
Asheville, NC 28815
 
Hope House is an organization dedicated to the rehabilitation of minors who are coming out of sex trafficking. They also provide shelter for women, job training, and outreach through On Eagles Wings. They also have a program called Fields of Hope that help these women become financially independent. Hope House works to restore women’s and children’s lives to live in freedom from the exploitation of their past. They do offer internships and job opportunities.