Scripture: Ephesians 4:31-32
Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Thought for the Day: Though Paul usually writes in broad terms, he does not think about people as statistics or categories. You are not tenderhearted to a statistic; you do not forgive a category; you do not put away negative living for a sociological grouping. You do these things for the sake of a human being. I was rereading some statistics around human trafficking, both in our country and around the globe. It is estimated that sex trafficking is a $10 billion industry here in the United States. That number is staggering, and it causes outrage and disgust. Yet within that $10 billion are 12 and 14 and 16 year old girls and boys who are enslaved in backrooms and hotels around the country. When they are a statistic or number, we can shake our heads and say, “Something needs to change!” When we recognize that it is about a young girl who is trafficked 6 or 8 times each and every day, outrage moves to action. Too often faith is kept in the theoretical, but at the end of the day, following Jesus is always personal and about the personhood of every single human being.
Prayer: Make it personal for me, O Gracious Creator. You are the Source of All Good Things, and you are continually inviting us to work on your behalf. Challenge us to see our sisters and brothers as sisters and brothers. By your Spirit, break down the walls that divide us into generic categories and statistics. Make us real to one another in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Respect
…and don’t forget:
