Freedom Demands Responsibility.

The Holocaust. Slavery in the American South. Genocide in Rwanda. Terror in Sudan. Persecution in North Korea. These events, these horrific pages of history, these terrifying episodes along the modern timeline--these have broken my heart. They have made me cry. They anger me and forbid me to turn my eyes the other way when wrong runs rampant, when evil flourishes, when the weaker ones of society are taken advantage of. Perhaps it is that fervor and desire to see evil punished and justice given that demand my attention and focus when the current issue of human trafficking surfaces. It's a gross topic that we don't want to believe exists. It's not entertaining. It's not pretty. It's downright morbid and perverted, but it has flooded our nation, and it has inundated our streets. Therefore, to turn a blind eye, while easy, would be selfish.

But does God care about such an injustice? Is he concerned with the enslavement--physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual--of men, women, and children? Psalm 10 strongly affirms that he does: "O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more." If God has a heart for justice, should his people not share that heart? If we are his people, if we are the Body of Christ, should we not cultivate a heart that mirrors his and a character that reflects his? Should we not be the ones working to enhance the freedom of others because we have received complete freedom from the Giver of true freedom?

Former South African president Nelson Mandela once declared, "To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains but to live in a way that enhances and respects the freedom of others." Do I truly and fully live out my freedom if I fail to work towards the freedom, both the physical and the emotional, both the psychological and the spiritual, of others? Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel declared in his Nobel acceptance speech, "What all these victims need above all is to know...that while their freedom depends on ours, the quality of our freedom depends on theirs." For those in slavery to be freed, those in freedom must act. For those living in freedom to genuinely experience freedom, they must vigilantly and faithfully work towards the freedom of others.