“Outrage” may be one of those words like “triggered.” Its use has been augmented so many times for more mundane matters that it no longer can describe the utter feeling of disgust that arises from a careful view of the hidden cracks of our culture.
A case in point came recently when it was reported that over 1,072 children have gone missing in Cleveland, Ohio since the beginning of the year with 45 of them vanishing so far in the month of September alone. Ironically, the day after the story was published it had all but disappeared from the headline page. Apparently, the loss of over 1,000 of our children is insufficient to stir the heartstrings of the readers of Fox News.
So, if this message from the great state of Ohio doesn’t move the needle for you, let’s take a look at some other statistical information that might have a different and more urgent effect. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) every 40 seconds a child goes missing in the U.S. If you are too slow to count, that’s over 2,100 per day. In reality, over 800,000 children are reported missing each year and another 500,000 go missing without ever being reported.
The Global Slavery Index indicates that right now in the United States there are 1,091,000 people living in slavery. This equates to 3.3 victims for every 1,000 people in the country.
What about the so-called secure border which seems to only exist as a figment of the imagination of some folks lurking in the halls of the White House and Congress? The Department of Health and Human Services believes that over 130,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the line of demarcation between the U.S. and Mexico. At least those are the ones whom they know about. But wait, there’s more to the story. Now they can’t find over 85,000 of the ones whom they’ve let in “legally.” Only God knows how many precious children are undergoing horrific torture at this moment because our own government surely has no real idea and honestly doesn’t even seem to care.
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There is little hope on the horizon from any level of government, especially the one based in Washington, D.C. In fact, the present administration seems to be far more interested in murdering unborn children, indoctrinating the innocent minds, and mutilating the bodies of even our youngest children, without the knowledge and consent of their parents, all in the name of sexual freedom, than it is trying to find and help the millions of exploited children living in the hell of human trafficking. Even more concerning are the implications that very important people are benefiting in some way from the misery of these precious little ones. With all of the investigations currently churning in our nation, have you ever stopped to think about the seemingly intentional shroud of secrecy that has now enveloped the matters involving Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell? God help us!
At Southern Evangelical Seminary we believe in natural law particularly as it applies to the sanctity of the nuclear human family that should consist of a real father and a real mother nurturing their children physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Satan knows that America cannot stand if this traditional family structure is destroyed, and that is why he is attacking it so vehemently now through every means including our own government.
If the family is under attack and if our children are being destroyed every minute in one way or another, the question must be asked, “Where is the church?” When it comes to our precious children, sadly the organized church in America is by and large “missing in action.” Perhaps it is fear that compels us not to act, or maybe it’s some misconceived notion that we ought just to stick to “theology” and not get involved in “politics.” As painful as it is to say, it may well be nothing more than complacency that is driving the malaise of the organized church. God forbid that it would only be to protect our social status or our bank accounts.
In Matthew 19:14 Jesus instructed his disciples, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the Kingdom of Heaven.” Then in Luke 2:17 Jesus again admonishes His disciples when he tells them, “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.” Based just on these two verses alone, we know for sure what Jesus’ opinion is regarding these innocent souls.
So, in the end, maybe it’s not outrage that we should feel. Maybe it’s the righteous indignation of Jesus as He made the “whip of cords” in John 2:15 and commenced to clearing out the temple because it had ceased to be worthy of its existence and purpose. At the risk of making enemies with some of my friends, it is time for pastors to come out from behind their pulpits and believers to get their backsides out of their favorite pews and proclaim to the world that the lives of our precious children matter and that this “nation under God” matters as well. The church throughout history has often sat on its haunches and done nothing in the face of evil. It happened in Germany, it happened in Russia, and it has happened many times in the United States including in my beloved Southland. Now the time of our redemption has come — it is time for us to get “whip cord mad” just like Jesus did. The church must lead or get out of the way for God’s wrath will not be stayed forever from this land. We must find deep within us the moral courage and resolve to be the church that Christ intended us to be. So, let the spiritual revolution begin now in the hearts of God’s people. Our children and our nation depend on it.
After a distinguished career as both a lawyer and a judge, Judge Phil Ginn retired as the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge for the 24th Judicial District in North Carolina. Over the course of his 22-year judicial career, he was privileged to hold court in almost 50% of the county seats in North Carolina. Currently, Judge Ginn serves as the president of Southern Evangelical Seminary.
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