One of my favorite preachers is Voddie Baucham. The Lord has gifted him to be a powerful communicator, and he is unafraid to tackle the hardest issues of our day with a solid Biblical worldview. In speaking about people’s hardness of heart, he quipped, “I’m not in the hard heart business. I’m just in communications, my Daddy handles sales.”
Over the last three years, I have wrestled with the topic of human trafficking, asking Him for wisdom and guidance. It was not a yes/no question; it was when and how. That’s mostly true! For the first year, I turned into Jonah and ran. Slowly and graciously, the Lord changed my heart, and as I dove into research, He made it clear that this is an issue needing open discussion in our communities. Part of that research included sharing with people I trust, most of whom are bishops and preachers from different churches across the country. Not one of them told me I was crazy! One of the bishops told me, “Marlin, don’t you dare chicken out on this! If it makes a difference for one child, it’s worth it.”
A retired judge told me point blank, this type of sin is different. “It devastates the victims and negatively changes their whole lives forever. I have not seen another sin as evil as this. The perpetrators of this behavior are trapped in a nightmare. They know what they are doing is wrong, but the darkness that drives their behavior will be unstoppable until it’s dragged into the light.”
Every single day I am reminded of my own sinfulness. That same judge wisely said, “don’t ever condemn anyone because they sin differently than you do.” We are all capable of unspeakable things, every one of us. I can identify with Voddie. I, too, am only in communications; that same Daddy handles sales by changing hearts for His glory.
As always, may you find joy in the simple things. This is Marlin with Plain Values magazine. Learn more about our work, and subscribe, at plainvalues.com.
Changing Hard Hearts