One of my seminary professors used to say that adultery, the abuse of an institution meant to bear life and make a relationship thrive, only brings death. Jesus' reiteration of the old Law, that adultery is committed in the heart, adds severity to this command... including lust as an equivalent to steeling your brother's wife.
There is a "joke" around today that three-fourths of men have admitted to watching porn and the other fourth are lying (the number of women is fewer, but growing). Maybe part of the problem is the assumption that porn doesn't hurt anybody... It's easy to rationalize away the fact that it's harming your own relationship with the opposite sex or the fact that the sensual act has been caught on camera in the first place (you never think of the man behind the lens). The whole thing's staged. How did the women arrive at the filming room? How sick and tormented must her life, her relationships, her sensuality be in the first place?
These women need our help...
Not our views...
The charity of the month is Rescue: Freedom.
It is difficult to realize just how much goes into saving women from the fate of sex trafficking. We often get it wrong. We want to help, jumping into our neighborhoods and going undercover in order to expose the perverted beast. But, there are already institutions set up by people who know what they are doing. They are the ones who both know how and know what they need to do to get things done.
One of the best ways we can help is also one of the easiest. Donate.
There is hope:
Ella’s StoryAlthough very poor, Ella’s family had a small home in their Moldovan village. As one of the oldest of 11 children, at age 15 Ella needed to work to help provide for her family. One young man told her of opportunities in Moscow. She didn’t want to go to Russia, but one day he demanded she go with him, forcing her into a car along with her close friend. She was told to keep quiet as they crossed borders. He sold her in Moscow and when she screamed she was a virgin, they laughed at her, knowing she’d bring better money.
Ella was forced to sleep on the forest floor during winter days and taken to outlying roads by night to prostitute herself. Beatings and drugs were a daily occurrence. Twice she ran away to the police, but they simply brought her back to her traffickers. A third time she and her friend called an aunt working in Russia. Finally, they were able to escape their horror.
She came to our partner’s aftercare home totally broken; sure that she no longer had any future. Day by day, Ella began to experience more hope and healing. She even had the opportunity to stand and testify against her trafficker. Her relationships with family, broken during the tragedy, began to be restored. Ella is now studying social work at the local university and is teaching fellow students about trafficking by sharing her story. She wants to work in the aftercare home in Moldova when she completes her degree.
***The charity of the month encourages an annual donation of approximately $25 for its charities (that seems the most reasonable way to help without hurting yourself too much). If there is a charity you are called to fall in love with and give the most to, that's a blessing. There is no obligation and this blog has no sort of compensation or really affiliation with the charity that it is supporting.
*****Please, give me feedback on what you think of the charities/your experiences/charity suggestions... I'd extremely appreciate your input.
***********For help with porn addiction check out XXXchurch.
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