Whenever I write about justice, the same question arises.
“Setting things right sounds good, but what about the traffickers? Don’t they need to be held accountable?”
When people break the law, society ought to hold them accountable. Due to corruption, many traffickers operate with impunity due to wealth and political power. Society ought to change that, and society ought to hold traffickers accountable whenever possible.
But… that’s not our job. Punishing traffickers might offer a rush of short-term satisfaction and generate headlines, but it does nothing to help our kids.
Project Rescue operates an outreach center in the heart of the red light district. Following Jesus’ example, they offer medical care, counseling, Bible study, vocational training, childcare… to ANYONE who comes through the door. Through these efforts they do the hard, painstaking, long-term work of forming relationships with trafficked women and traffickers alike.
Relationships create a space for remarkable things to happen. Mothers might see an opportunity for a better life for their kids at the Home of Hope. Traffickers might encounter Jesus and choose a different path. I’m sure Jesus uses those interactions in ways we will never see, but I’m also sure none of that effort goes to waste.
It strikes me that Jesus’ time on earth was terribly inefficient. He could have wiped out poverty or cured diseases. For that matter, he could have ended slavery.
He didn’t do any of that, though it was all within his power. He worked with people one-on-one and in small groups. He talked to them as if they were important… because they were.
We are accountable to Jesus, to His example.
So, we seek justice, we seek to set things right as best we can, for one group of kids.
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