Nothing Is For Nothing

I felt quite convicted yesterday as I saw red X's across hands in reference to being anti human-trafficking. On campus, at church, and online. "END IT" I read on someone's Facebook account. I read posts that said, "I know drawing a red X on my hand will not end it, but I also know that the people's hands it is drawn on can." Woah. That is a big thought, a big prayer. Our generation could end it. Imagine that. I did when I read it and thought, "That's way too big, that's impossible." Then I went into the kitchen to make coffee and conveniently just happened to grab the mug with the red writing. "START ACTING." Maybe that's what those red X's are shouting at us. I couldn't get it out of my head. How can we be the generation that ends it? What could we possibly do differently than past generations? Well, first we would have to acknowledge the fact that human beings are being bought and sold as a real and prevalent injustice, even today. That's a good step, making it as obvious as a red X drawn across a hand. What else? My "START ACTING" mug was staring at me. Then, we do something. We use our resources. We use our voices. What are our resources? Hmmm. The homes we live in, the food we eat, the money we have and how we choose to spend it. Are we frugal in our daily lives so that we can keep someone else  from the one they're forced to live at night? Our education, that's a big one. Our social media accounts. But I do think our 'voice' is the one we take for granted the most and perhaps the most powerful resource we have. All of the previously listed things are what make us lucky enough to have a voice. Yet, it isn't luck at all. It is with a purpose that we possess these things. Could part of that purpose be to END IT? Could the reason we've been given a voice in society be to not shut up about the fact that some people are forced into silence? These words are not just food for thought, these words are a call to action. Start utilizing. Don't believe the lie that you have to be specifically "called" to end it. If you have the resources, you're called to do something with them. How do I know this? I know that you are called to love and that love acts, love is not self-seeking, love does not delight in evil, oh and love always protects. So, make a plan. Use what you have to the benefit of someone who does not. Be protective. Don't stop talking about it, but don't just talk about it. Utilize.