The STOPLight

What is holding us back?

How long can we in the church of Jesus Christ keep our heads in the sand without suffocating ourselves? What is keeping us from providing leadership and working hard so our youth won’t be exploited?

Evelina Giobbe of WHISPER (see sidebar page 6) has challenged us: "If the church doesn’t start to be the one to say that a woman has value as an eternal being, and that women and children have souls and are not simply disposable objects to be bought and sold, then no one will. The church is called to heal."

I believe we really do want the best for young people. We want them to have great lives. We surely don’t want anybody to take advantage of them, use them, exploit them, discard them. Still, it is happening here and now in our country and many thousands are being devastated—more and more each day. And yet, as a country and as churches, we stand back and watch it happen. We are more comfortable noticing the exploitation of poor and needy children in other parts of the world. It is hard to look at or admit what is happening at home. What is putting us out of the picture when our own youth desperately need our help and leadership?

It’s strange how most of us get kind of uncomfortable when prostitution issues are brought up. We begin looking for the nearest door. We start asking ourselves how long this is going to take. Our faces turn to stone and our minds wander.

What is going on? Why do we find it hard to discuss these issues? I assert there are many factors. One relates to the way we are as human beings. We seem to accept the notion that some people are just plain "bad."

Hollywood knows this about us and makes lots of money by exploiting it.

There is something deep inside of me which enjoys a very violent movie. The movie always has some really "bad" people. They kill with pleasure. They show no remorse or other positive emotions. They "look" like criminals. They are mean and have few likeable qualities. These people definitely "deserve" to die. In the movie, we are led to believe some people are just not worthy of compassion. They are "bad" and it is okay to hate them, hurt them, and kill them. At the end of the movie, the "bad" people get their due, usually in a very, very violent way. The viewer feels satisfied and good about the death. Cheers go up in the theater.

Walter Wink in his book Engaging the Powers uses the term "redemptive violence." We have seen it portrayed in many movies and in books. The villain does not have a good side. The villain always does evil. Therefore, no matter what steps are taken to eradicate this monster, it is interpreted as good—no harm done. Violence is necessary, we are told. In fact, it is "redemptive." We get to feel good watching someone lose their life. In these cases, violence is portrayed as the only logical solution.

Now let’s change the subject to prostitution. On the surface is the fact that someone is out there offering his or her body for sale. Is this person "bad," outside the boundaries of respectable humankind? Unconsciously or not, perhaps we have chosen to think so. It is very easy in this case to link the behavior with the person. For example, we usually don’t say someone is prostituting themselves. We simply lump behavior and personhood together and apply a label: "prostitute." This comes very close to just calling a person bad, evil, expendable or unworthy.

What is going on?

Let me share a quote from Identifying and Combating Juvenile Prostitution by Marcia I. Cohen. "The juvenile prostitute is not seen by society as a worthy victim, while the sexually abused child is. We must realize they are one and the same child." Have we unconsciously decided that people in prostitution have crossed an invisible line and become bad or evil, therefore discardable?

Look inside for a moment. Do I have an assessing machine inside of me which says some people are worthy of my attention and respect and some people are not worthy? If so, how much do I pay attention to my assessments and believe them to be right? Do I relish having opinions about people and judging them harshly? Do I enjoy the high of feeling superior?

Am I willing to let go of my opinion that some humans are unworthy? Am I willing to give up my internal, mental assessments of other human beings? Am I willing to give up being "right"? How long will I continue to poke at the splinter in the eye of another and not even notice the log in my own eye? (Matthew 7:1-5)

What should I choose? I can choose to regard them as "different." I can look at their behavior in the sex industry and notice their outward attitude and decide they are unfit and unworthy human beings. I can keep looking for more "evidence" of why I should respect them and withhold my acceptance of them until I find "enough" evidence.

On the other hand, I can choose to regard people in prostitution as human beings, no better or worse than myself. I can choose to listen to people who say those in prostitution are victims, are abused, are youth who were tricked or even kidnapped. I can decide to let go of my judge-mental attitude. I can choose to be a servant of humanity and not its judge.

Jesus regarded "bad" and "unworthy" people in a different way. He saw people in prostitution as lovable, valuable and redeemable. He chose not to judge them but to relate to them and expect their faith to manifest itself. He noticed their brokenness and their willingness to ask for healing. And he told the priests and leaders that "tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the Kingdom of God before you do." (Matthew 21:32)

Each one of us must choose. Now is the time to pull our heads out of the sand. Where do we start? We can learn. We can act. We can challenge. We can love. But will we?

It is time to go beyond fascination with the sex industry. We can show Evelina Giobbe and the world that we believe women and children do indeed have eternal souls; that we will not allow them to be neglected or exploited. How can we show it?

We can put our personal beliefs and convictions into action—for the sake of our children, for the sake of our communities, for the sake of Christ.

What can we do personally? Talk to people. Get the attention of those in power. Get information to churches, to schools, to social service agencies. Pray without ceasing. Become a speaker and create more awareness of the devastation of prostitution. Work on informing your legislators and changing existing legislation. Advocate the prevention of child abuse. Notice and help kids at risk. Support programs that address the issue of prostitution.

Take a firm stand. Choose to make a difference. Start starting.

by Al Erickson, founder and director of S.T.O.P.

In 2002 our organization changed its name to Adults Saving Kids. Prior to that we were called A-STOP (Alliance for Speaking Truths On Prostitution), STOP (Speaking Truths On Prostitution), or Grassroots Ministry Alliance.