Have I bought in to the slave trade?

So I've been pretty absent lately, for that I apologize.  Life has its ways of pulling you under the current and opportunities to ascend for a breath can be infrequent.  But I absolutely HAD to take a moment to share something that really hit me hard yesterday.

Last night, my wife and I started watching Django Unchained.  I say started, because due to time constraints we weren't able to finish the movie, but got at least halfway through it.  There are a lot of words to accurately describe this movie.  Grim.  Repulsive.  Stomach-turning.  The institution of slavery that existed in the old South is certainly not a bright spot in our country's history.  And while it is just a movie, we can get an idea of how some human beings were treated at that time.

I think most of us could agree that such practices are unfathomable.  I personally couldn't imagine standing by and watching such injustice happen.  But it got me to thinking.  I would assume that most of us would profess to be disgusted and possibly even driven to action by such mistreatment of fellow men and women.  But I'd like to examine ways in which we have committed even more unthinkable atrocities.

Surely not!  We could never be capable of such heinous acts.  We could not inflict such physical and emotional harm on others, could we?  We could not condemn other people to exhausting and hopeless lives, followed by an unimaginable death, could we?  Or have we already done so?

We are surrounded by countless people living in just such hopelessness, slaves in the bondage of sin.  They are living in real heartache and hopelessness because of it.  We may not see it in their daily lives, but it is there.  And they are not all as obvious as the drug addict or the victim of abuse.  Such things are highly visible, but what about the person contemplating suicide because of the heartache of a failed marriage, a recently deceased son or daughter, unbearable financial stress, or even a more visible chemical dependence?

Such people may be well put-together on the outside, but they may be absolutely hopeless when no one can see it.  They may be slaves to a sin that they admittedly may have walked into willingly, but cannot escape from on their own.

The most sobering thought of all?  We have the answer to their problem.  We stand by, in relative comfort while they endure their turmoil.  In reality, how can we claim to be any better than the heartless slaver if we have the answer to the world's problems but refuse to share it?  How many people have you shared Jesus with recently?  I know my own answer to that question, and my heart is broken by it.  I've allowed countless people pass my by in chains, flogged by the master they are serving and broken into submission, helpless to escape.

My friends, it is time we issue an emancipation proclamation of our own.  It is time to search our hearts and have compassion for our fellow humans.  We cannot stand idly by as we watch such injustice take place.  Those of us who are Christians, it is time we stand up and be the church, and carry out the responsibility that is placed on our shoulders.

I do not wish to be a failure any longer.  I do not wish others' pain and heartache to continue.  I must personally step out of my bed of comfort and offer assistance where it is most desperately needed.  May God move my heart to carry out the responsibility He has placed on me.