Fright Week: Essential Question

The question I chose was "What does the gospel call us to do in times of injustices?" I chose this question because I feel like it is very important to know what Jesus has called us to do through these challenging things we have started to learn about. When we see all of the terrible things that are happening all around the world like children being used as soldiers or as sex slaves, it is really easy to get caught in the anger that accompanies it. Its too easy to overreact and get heated over the terrible sins that occur in our world, but what made me chose this question was the desire to move past the initial anger, and see what Jesus says. I am interested in deepening my knowledge of what we as men are called to do in this situations. Another reason I chose this question is because the answer isn't necessarily straight forward. It doesn't always explicitly say in the bible what we are called to do in certain situations, and I am always looking for more chances to delve deeper and find the answer.

In class we watched part of the video "Half the Sky" which was about human and sex trafficking throughout the world. The segment we watched focused on young women in Cambodia the had been freed from, or were still in brothels. In this was the story of Somaly Mam, an ex-sex slave. She had been through brothels and was raped while she was only 13, but that didn't stop her. She lived out what I would see as the essential question. I saw her living out hat Jesus would have done if her were in her situation. She took her past and used that to help others. Somaly made a foundation whose sole purpose was to help other girls who had been or were sex slaves. She did what Jesus calls us to do in the gospel, which was turning the other cheek. "If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also." (Matthew 5: 38). She did what we are all called to do; she took her bad situation and used it for the betterment of others.

This made me to think about what we are called to do as men. Which is where I pose the question "What would you do if that was one of your own daughters caught in sex trafficking?" Think about what your initial reaction would be, angry, sad, disappointed Think about those emotions  and when you have continue to think about "What might an acceptable response be?" Lastly take those responses and your initial emotions, and compare them to how Jesus' would have reacted in the bible. Then answer this last question. "Is it possible to live up to the standards we are held to by the gospel?" in other words, Jesus calls us to do some pretty outrageous things, what I am asking is whether or not we can meet those standards, or if we can never reach them.