“Jesus wants to get rid of the sex trafficking [in the world just like I do], only he takes it a lot more seriously than I do…“
– Joshua Ryan Butler, The Skeletons in God’s Closet
No sane Christian will ever stand up and say that sex trafficking is good thing. No one that is taking Jesus’ words and actions seriously will ever be for the moving of persons for the selling and trading of sex acts. Obviously.
Christians rightly stand against such things. We should be protesting and fighting against those people and institutions and systems that make such things happen. We should be anti-sex trafficking.
But is that far enough?In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes it clear. Stopping sex trafficking is not enough, though it is important.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.“
Pastor and author Joshua Ryan Butler put it this way in his book, The Skeletons in God’s Closet.
“Jesus wants to get rid of the sex trafficking [in the world just like I do], only he takes it a lot more seriously than I do.
I want to get rid of sex trafficking; Jesus wants to get rid of lust. I want to prune back the wicked tree; he wants to dig out the root.“
We can feel good about agreeing with Jesus when we hear his words. We can feel good about picketing or signing a petition to see sex trafficking systems destroyed. We can feel good about the steps we take to see this destructive abuse of people taken down.
But that isn’t enough.
Jesus wants to see lust, not just the effects of lust, destroyed. Jesus wants to see our adultery, in all its forms, obliterated.
For Christians, the issue includes sex trafficking, but isn’t limited to that. Porn, masterbation; these might be the big ones that come to mind, but there is more. The lingering looks at girls, or guys, as they walk by. Fantasizing about sexual encounters.
The issue of lust runs deep and gets intwined into many parts of our every day.
Our every day.
Yours and mine. You and me.
Yes, sex trafficking and lust is a real issue out there. But it is also a real issue in us. In our hearts.
Let’s not forget that we are sinners too.
This article first appeared on Christian Thought Sandbox.
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