Yesterday was the anniversary of the formal start of the Civil War, marked by the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861 at 4:30am. It really was not that long ago, yet to me it seems so very, very far away. It seems so far away when people of my skin color were being bought and sold as property. I can’t see that. I can’t touch it. I can’t experience personally what that felt like.

Yet it still goes on in this country and around the world. People of all skin colors, of all ages, of all sexes. This morning I found myself looking at a couple of web sites about human trafficking and read some disturbing things:
– There are more human slaves in the world today than ever before in history.(1)
– The average cost of a slave around the world is $90. (2)
– It is estimated that there are approximately 27 million slaves around the world. (2)
– Over 50% of human trafficking victims are children. (1)
– Most human trafficking in the United States occurs in New York, California, and Florida. (1)

Why do I share these things this morning? Perhaps because in my men’s bible study this morning we talked about God’s love for us. We talked about how God destroyed cities and towns completely, like Sodom, Gomorrah and Jericho. What does God think of our country today, of our world today? Of the things that go on between and among peoples? That is what I am thinking about this morning. What can I do?

I need to be a voice to the voiceless, and give hope to the hopeless. Easy words to type, to sing. But do I know what that looks like? Can I change the world? Probably not in a big sense. But if I can make a difference in one life, who knows what God can do with that. That is changing the world. And it starts with me. It starts with you.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.”
— Matthew 5:6

I hunger and thirst for righteousness, but what am I doing about it today? How are others being blessed by my hunger? They should be.