Disposable People

I'm reading "Disposable People" by Kevin Bales. The subtitle is "New slavery in the global economy." As i read i have mixed feelings. Sometimes i think, "i don't need to read this book...i've got a front seat view to how broken our world is" and then at the same time i think, "man, i need to know this stuff. i need to have a more educated/well rounded view of the way the world is"

so here are some stuff from the book that kinda rocked my socks...

• "Slavery is an obscenity. It is not just stealing someone's labor; it is theft of an entire life." p 7
• Kevin Bales estimates there are 27 million slaves in the world today. This is a conservative estimate - only counting research he could verify. Some other groups say there are 200 million p8
• "There are more slaves alive today than all the people stolen from Africa in the time of the transatlantic slave trade" p9
• "As the new slavery increases, the number of people enslaved grows everyday. We're facing an epidemic of slavery that is tied through the global economy to our own lives." p32
• "Slavery has been, is, and will be a part of our lives until we make it stop."

i realize that isn't very hope-full but it is true. Today i heard a teaching from Mars Hill Church from their website. it was Steve Chalke - he's involved with "Stop the traffik" and "Oasis" to organizations involved in anti-traffiking...i don't want to get his titles wrong, so i'll leave it at that.

Anyway - it was good and inspiring...he told this story from ancient rome (historically agreed on) about this Christian man who was outraged by the gladiator games. So we went to rome to protest ended up dying in the games...he was trying to stop them, and was yelling, "Stop. In the name of Jesus Stop." (you'd really be better off listening the teaching. its from June 1, 2008 and you can find it at www.marshill.org) Anyway - this teaching, combined with the book i'm reading leave me feeling very compelled about my responsibility as a follower of Jesus to be a part of ending slavery. i mean, i know i am a part of it. I know IJM is doing this work...i know that. But today when i was sitting in the coffee shop listening and reading i just kept thinking, "man...this is something that i want to be a part of. I need to be a part of. This is battle worth engaging in, whatever the cost."

And as hard as it is to be here sometimes...this is exactly where i want to be.

Below are some links with information, and ways to be involved...
www.ijm.org
www.stopthetraffik.org