Surprise

It is amazing what you find when you begin to notice the many references in the Bible to justice and to defending the poor and oppressed. When I read accounts of how traffickers work, I'm reminded of Psalm 10--as perfect a description of human trafficking as I can imagine:

In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord. In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies. He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me; I'll always be happy and never have trouble." His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue. He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent, watching in secret for his victims. He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength. He says to himself, "God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees."

Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, "He won't call me to account"? But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out.

The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more (NIV).

Evangelicals, of which I am one, tend to focus so much on issues of personal morality that we become blind to God's passion for justice. But consider Jeremiah 22:16:

"He defended the cause of the poor and needy ... is that not what it means to know me?" declares the Lord.

I think many evangelicals would be floored if you were to say that defending the poor and needy is what it means to know God. Obviously, this is not the only thing the Bible talks about in regard to knowing God, but the fact that one passage boils the matter down to this carries a lot of weight. And think about this: the core of the Gospel message is that God sent His Son to die for those who could not save themselves. We were poor and needy, and He rescued us. He calls us to be like Him.

Tomorrow I'll try to review some of the specific things I'm doing to join the fight against human trafficking.