Sex trafficking is the fastest growing crime in the U.S.
Pornography is fueling sex trafficking by driving desire to its destructive end.
Of course, Satan is behind it all. So many victims are caught in this evil trap of porn addiction. Someone stumbles across porn, and, slowly, the habit grows until it is a full-blown addiction.
James 1:14-15 says, “… [E]ach person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
Like one who is addicted to a drug, the intensity of the substance must increase in order for the addicted to experience the same high. For those addicted to porn, the degree of depravity must increase, along with a desire to physically act out what’s been seen onscreen. For far too many, that desperation translates to a willingness to purchase another human being who they expect will satisfy their self-centered desires.
But, let’s take a look at the victim – the person being abused as a substance, a drug, a commodity whose sole purpose is to ensure the sexual pleasure of another, however cruel or violent it may be. We are talking about a human being created in the image of Almighty God. How does someone with all this beautiful, innate value become subject to such degrading treatment?
A couple of years ago, I attended a three-day international conference on sexual exploitation and trafficking. On the last day, one of the speakers courageously voiced an important observation. This soft-spoken woman, though small in stature, stood as a spiritual giant as she added to her presentation some final words.
They went something like this:
“We’ve been here three days. And we’ve had many speakers address many things. But there is one thing no one is talking about! No one is talking about the breakdown of the family and how it is attributing to all of these atrocities we’ve been talking about for days!”
I felt the weight of her words. And I sensed intense spiritual warfare in the room.
A 2017 report by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) showed that 88% of sex trafficked kids were in the care of social services or foster care when they went missing. These are children who are lacking a secure family structure.
This is something we should be talking about!
Traffickers look for vulnerabilities prevalent in children and young people who lack family bonds – especially a strong, protective, loving father. In the documentary Blind Eyes Opened, a sex trafficking survivor said traffickers readily admit they look for young girls with low self-worth. Traffickers are always on the lookout for a girl who is easily manipulated and fooled into believing she is being pursued by a doting boyfriend, rather than an abusive trafficker. The majority of such entrapments are initiated through social media interaction.
The average age in which one becomes trafficked is 11 – 14. And girls typically end up referring to their pimps as “Daddy?” There’s a reason for that. The daddy void creates an unmistakable vulnerability that traffickers recognize and use to their advantage.
As our society continues on its destructive path, embracing all forms of sexual immorality and identity confusion with porn use running rampant, the beauty and purpose of God’s gift of family is being rejected.
The deceitfulness of sin has hardened the hearts of a people – a nation. God is calling the church to repent – to turn from sexual perversion, away from self-pleasure and to God and His purposes.
The words from Malachi 4:5-6 ring loudly in our day:
“Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
It seems reasonable that we are currently living under a curse. Luke spoke of John the Baptist as “a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly” (Luke 1:17).
What will it take for us to “accept the wisdom of the godly,” to repent, to turn away from the selfishness of porn use? How much collateral damage must be reaped by our children? When will it end?
The numbers are staggering. Among church-going men, 68% view porn on a regular basis. And over 50% of pastors do likewise. And women are watching porn in growing numbers. Only 13% of self-identified Christian women say they never watch porn.
Yet, only 7% of pastors say their church has a program to help those struggling with porn.
Of course, our hearts are broken when we come face to face with the reality of widespread sexual abuse of children, as well as adults. We want sex trafficking to come to an end.
And, we say we want revival. Do we really?
We can no longer tiptoe around sexual immorality in the church, but we must face it straight on.
We must address pornography. Fathers, return to your wives. Return to your children. Return to your God.
Resources for the church:
https://www.purelifeministries.org/
https://www.amazon.com/Every-Mans-Battle-Winning-Temptation/dp/0307457974
