Recently I watched the movie, “Sound of Freedom,” which details some of the horrors of human trafficking and slavery. For reasons I cannot fathom after viewing the film, the media has done their best to demonize the film, calling it right-wing conspiracy and political fodder. There is nothing remotely political in the film, and aside from the quoting of a Bible verse, nothing to identify it as any sort of Christian film. There is also no shortage of controversy surrounding the real-life protagonist of the film and his organization.
But all of that is just noise to distract from the very real tragedy of human trafficking. Of course, exact statistics on the number of people trafficked or enslaved are impossible to gather, but conservative estimates are 25 million individuals trafficked each year, and close to 50 million who are living in modern-day slavery. These are not numbers any follower of Jesus should be comfortable with.
God created every person in His image (Genesis 1:27). The Bible is clear about how we should treat the vulnerable in our society. From the very early days of the nation of Israel, God warned His people against exploiting and mistreating foreigners, orphans, and widows (Exodus 22:21-22). These warnings continued through the prophets, right up to the instructions to the early church from the half-brother of Christ (James 1:27). In a compelling message from God through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord says, “Isn’t the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke (Isaiah 58:5-7)?”
After watching the movie, my wife asked me, “With the problem so big and widespread, how do we ever fight back against it?” We have to play the long game here. As painful as it is to think about, we need to realize putting an end to human trafficking and slavery is more than likely going to take decades, not months or years. The truth is, I don’t think we will ever defeat it until the Lord comes back and establishes His reign on earth. We need people everywhere to recognize and agree that these atrocities are not right and should never be done. There is too much evil in this world for me to see that happening.
So what do we do now? We pray. The Lord can bring about events and circumstances we could never imagine or hope for. Nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:35-38; Matthew 19:24-26; Matthew 17:15-20; Jeremiah 32:17). We must never forget that each night when we lie down to sleep, somewhere in the world, a parent is mourning their lost child; somewhere a human being is being forced into unspeakable acts against their will. We cannot neglect to pray for their peace, comfort, and deliverance.
If the subject of human trafficking and slavery doesn’t destroy you and break your heart, go see “Sound of Freedom”. If you can’t afford to go, the production house is giving away free tickets for the asking. Watch the film. Get angry. Let it break your heart and drive you to your knees. Never take for granted the freedom you have and never forget the women and children who are suffering the horrors of trafficking and slavery. Never forget to pray.