It Starts In Our Own Homes

Over 100,000 children are sexually trafficked in the US each year.  American citizens!  Innocent and vulnerable, girls averaging age 12 are manipulated into the sex trade.  Raped, tortured and abused on a daily basis.

Even more terrifying is that there are people buying it.  Men willing to risk the public arena to knowingly solicit sex with children.  On the streets of big cities and small towns across America.  But it does not start there.  It starts in our own homes.  If child sex trafficking is the tip of the iceberg, pornography is its base.

• Pornography is a $13 billion business in the US.  Double that if you count what’s under the table.
• There are over 1 million pornographic websites, with more than 260 million web pages, and climbing.
• Over 1 billion pornographic videos are rented each year, 50% of what’s rented in hotels.

It’s ugly.  It’s not pleasant.  It raises a lot of issues.  But we must be willing to have discourse on this topic instead of continuing to look the other way.

Unfortunately the Church has not been an active participant in the dialogue.  No one wants to see young children exploited.  But as a body of Christ, we are sweeping the pornography issue under the rug.

• Even though almost 50% of families say pornography is a problem in their own home.
• A third of divorces cite internet pornography as a significant factor.
• The largest consumer of internet pornography is 12 – 17 year olds.

This problem merits full blown ministry.  It’s tempting to just address child sex trafficking.  As horrid and appalling as that is, you will continue to have a steady stream of buyers if you do not solve the problem at its core.  The sexualization of our culture in general, with pornography topping the list, is grooming boys to be those future sex buyers.

John 3 tells us that people love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil.  But Jesus came as the Light of the world, to call us out of darkness, to bring us into the light.  He does not want us to hide in the darkness of our sin.  Even if it is difficult to talk about.