By Kevin Austin

Fifty million. That’s a big number. In 2020 there were an estimated 40 million people enslaved. Today it’s 50 million. That’s a 25% increase of evil.

What does human trafficking look like? You might think it looks like children forced to beg, families held by force and worked to death, men and women raped for profit, youth living on the streets, and undocumented immigrants toiling in the fields. You are right.

But it also looks like a $100 pair of shoes and a brand-new shirt. It tastes like a tomato or a blueberry, chocolate, shrimp, or a great meal at a Chinese restaurant. Human trafficking is in our cupboards, our closets, our kitchens; it’s around the corner, across the street, and on the other side of the world.

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“Allow yourself to become angry, and let that anger move you to love-driven action.”

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Human traffickers are supplying the demand. Our consumerism is driving forced labor. Many factors are driving sex trafficking. Sin turns partners into predators.[1] Sin is the disease that hollows us out and then destroys not only individual lives but also whole families and neighborhoods.

We know this. This reality should not paralyze us. It should drive us to our knees in lament and thanksgiving to God that He has saved us from this fate. … Or has He?

Awareness and Action

Human trafficking survivors are in our churches. Vulnerable youth are in our youth groups. Neglected and abused children are in our Sunday schools. The man sitting next to you might be addicted to pornography — a gateway to human trafficking. The woman in your Bible study might be a survivor of incest, another gateway. Jesus said: Let them who have eyes, see; let them who have ears, hear (Matthew 11:15 and 13:15–17, Mark 4:9 and 23). Look. See. Listen. Hear. Allow yourself to become angry, and let that anger move you to love-driven action.

It’s not as simple as: It’s happening over there, and because I’m a moral person who supports missions and sponsors a child through ICCM, I’ve done my part. It’s not just over there — it’s in our neighborhoods. And it’s not “them.” There is no “them.” There is only us. We have allowed modern-day slavery to exist and flourish, but we can also stop it.

If we will care.

If we will act.

If we will follow Jesus.

Truth and Justice

1 John 3:16-18 has become a powerful word for me:

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

Jesus is our model. We follow and do what Jesus does. If He lays down His life, we also lay down our lives. If we can’t even give to a brother or sister in need, which is a low bar, then are we really Christians? That’s powerful in-your-face talk the author is giving us!

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“Loving in truth means to live in the kingdom.”

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The ending of verse 18 has baffled me in the past. I get the “let’s not just love with talk, but with action.” That makes sense. But what is the “in truth” mean? It seems to be an odd, out-of-context thing to tack onto the end. I encourage you to read all of 1 John 3, because it’s brilliant. Here’s what I think it means:

When we love with words, speech, AND action, we demonstrate the gospel while proclaiming it. When we speak and act out of humility, as Jesus does, then we are a powerful witness. We need both/and: words and action. Evangelism, therefore, is not just trying to convince people of God’s love and grace, the consequences of sin, and the hope in the healing power of Jesus. Evangelism also must show people the shalom that Jesus ushers in. Justice and compassion work, therefore, is not just about doing good. There must also be verbal witness to the kingdom of God being realized.

Why should anyone believe what we say unless we show them we mean business? Why should anyone follow us as we follow Jesus in doing good in the world, if we can’t share with them our motivation, our hope?

In Luke 4:18–19, Jesus talks about proclaiming three times. Because He’s anointed, He has power to not only proclaim, but also act. What He proclaims He does: preach good news to the poor, set captives free, heal the blind, create true liberty, and usher in the year of the Lord’s favor — 1 John 3 in Luke 4; humility, words, truth, sacrifice; talking the talk and walking the walk.

Loving in truth means to live in the kingdom. It means to center on Jesus, no one and nothing else. The truth of Jesus and the mission of God is our foundation.

This is powerful. When we do what 1 John 3 (and really all of Scripture!) tells us to do, we become empowered ambassadors of God, architects of shalom, agents of hope and healing. We enter our neighborhoods with relevancy. We prophetically challenge oppressive systems. We boldly offer new possibilities.

And we do this sacrificially; sometimes suffering. Like Jacob, we wrestle with God and go away limping. Like Mary, we say, “Yes, according to your will,” and God breaks our hearts. Like Jesus, we offer a better way, and they might kill us.

What does this look like practically?

Bethany Hoang writes: “Seeking justice doesn’t begin at the door of a brothel. Seeking justice begins with seeking the God of justice.”[2]

Read that again.

Seek God. Center on Jesus. Let worship form, inform, and catalyze us to be the people of God and then do what God calls us to do: seek and save the lost, care for the poor, set captives free, proclaim, love, and forgive.

Freedom Sunday

This is what Freedom Sunday[3] is all about. Seventeen years ago, I created Freedom Sunday to help churches proclaim, sing, lament, pray, repent, give, worship, and then act in the direction of freedom, centered on Jesus, empowered by the Spirit.

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“Let’s join Jesus as He sets captives free.”

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Here is some good Wesleyan theology: As mentioned above, sin is a disease. The disease of sin destroys people, communities, and cultures. Injustices are the symptoms of disease. What cures this disease? Jesus. How does the cure spread? Us. The Spirit empowers us, and we do 1 John 3 and Luke 4:18–19 (and a bunch of other stuff).

But this only works if we move. We need to act. We need to do more than feel badly and talk, talk, talk, talk. Please! For the sake of the 50 million and for the sake of gospel, please do more than read this and then move on.

The really fantastic thing is that when we move out on mission with Jesus, it’s the best thing ever. Sure, it’s hard, and there is suffering, but there is joy and hope beyond understanding. Why? Because this is what we were made for — to be with Jesus on mission with Him.

The organization I lead, the Set Free Movement, struggles with these tensions. I’ll be honest; it’s challenging. Did you know that our team in India to date has helped 903 missing children find safety and hope? This is so hard:

. . . 95% of the sex trafficking victims interviewed reported a history of child maltreatment, with 49% experiencing sexual abuse, the most common form of maltreatment disclosed. Close to two-thirds (63%) of sex trafficking victims reported a history of involvement with the child welfare system (Wolfe et al., 2018)[4]

Yet, we have Set Free teams making a real difference for foster kids, youth, social workers, and families. We are keeping girls in school through Wunders.

What I’ve seen, what I know — it’s a heavy burden. It’s hard to live in hope when your emotions are crushed continually. But I’m more inspired than discouraged, and I refuse to despair — Jesus is Lord! Jesus is redeeming, and I’ll cling to Him as He swings the sword and snatches children from the mouths of the ravishers. Jesus is breaking down and breaking through.

So come on. Let’s join Jesus as He sets captives free. Let’s tell everyone that the original abolitionist, Jesus, is the Great Redeemer. Let’s bring healing to those broken and forsaken. Join me on Freedom Sunday, but don’t stop with just one day. Every day can be a day to foster freedom and healing in Jesus’ name.

[1] Howard A. Snyder and Joel Scandrett, Salvation Means Creation Healed: The Ecology of Sin and Grace: Overcoming the Divorce Between Earth and Heaven (Eugene: Cascade Books, 2011), 101.

[2] Hoang, Bethany H. (2012-10-03). Deepening the Soul for Justice (Urbana Onward). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

[3] setfreemovement.com/freedom-sunday

[4] socialworktoday.com/news/enews_1118_1.shtml

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Kevin Austin, D.Min., is the founder and director of the Set Free Movement. He is also a Free Methodist elder and the author of “Set Free: A Guide To Pursuing Liberation in an Age of Bondage.”

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