Friday, August 27, 2010

Part I of the Hate Journey


This is a piece I wrote a while ago...I'm getting ready to write Part II, so I thought I would first share Part I with you and see what you all think. Comment if you please!

Part I of the Hate Journey

I hate prostitution. Unknown to me before I began absorbing an understanding of God’s heart for justice was the bitter evil of this “business transaction”. Never before had I let the gravity of selling a woman's sexuality for a monetary price move my heart as deeply as it should have. That is, never before I began the mystifying journey of knowing God’s heart better.

Seeking out the heart of the Lord can be a dangerous thing. For when I began to seek out his heart for justice, I soon discovered that there are things in this world I’m called to hate. There are injustices all around me I need to detest and get angry about. Growing up in a home where anger was not an appropriate emotion to express, it was naturally a bit foreign to me. I had to wrap my mind around the fact that our world is a filthy, fallen place.

God can not be around sin; it is his antonym. Therefore, he hates sin. What? God hates? I thought, “This is altering the way I view my Creator. He’s beginning to wear a lot more skin.” There exists a particular evil which I believe breaks the heart of our Lord and this evil is prostitution. So how did these thoughts of seeking out God’s heart, learning to hate sin, and catching on to the hate-frenzy for prostitution come about?

Slumdog Millionaire helped me to be immensely disappointed in and dissatisfied with the world. What an incredible movie and what a tragic portrayal of man! Seeing this film was just the beginning of my voyage.

Good News about Injustice, by Gary Haugen is a remarkable book telling of numerous stories where injustice is currently being fought. Reading this book for a class which I was less than thrilled about, I did not expect to be changed. After all, the tiring phrase, “this book will change your life!” is hard to take seriously. I can’t handle that many life-changing reads. So, Good News about Injustice did not necessarily change my life, but it did transform the way I view our righteous God. Haugen, in this selection, describes why God hates injustice in an easy-to-cotton on way:
“If we had to see it [injustice] and hear it every day like our God does, we would hate it too. To understand where the God of compassion has been is to begin to understand God’s passion for justice. Justice, for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is not a good idea, a noble aspiration, a theoretical satisfaction or an impersonal principle-it is his beating heart. He is the ‘man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering,’ who weeps with those who weep (Isaiah 53:3; John 11:33-35)” (81).

One can probably understand by now why my mind was made up about God’s heart for justice after reading a whole book full of statements and sentiments similar to the above. Shortly after, the Lord led me on a remarkable trek, which was this: praying that the nations of the world would hear the name of Jesus. Operation World was the “life-altering” (how I can’t stand to use the other phrase!) book this time. Organizing the countries of the world in alphabetical order and offering its readers a prayer guide for each day of the year, Operation World is a “to the ends of the earth” miracle, really. Before getting my hands on this guide, there were countries (not to mention hundreds of people groups) of which I had never heard. What an outrageous experience it was to knock on the Lord’s heart daily for a year, asking him to send his people, to move hearts, and believing that the King of the World allowed my prayers to move him.

When I arrived at the section on India in June, I wept. One of the major prayer requests for the nation of India was, and still is, an end to child prostitution. There are over seven million child prostitutes in India alone. When I read that number, the word staggering came to mind. Staggering, overwhelming, confounding; I was a wreck! Praise the Lord I wasn’t very emotionally stable as I journeyed through prayers for India because I’m not sure that statistic would hit me the same now. I got on my knees for more days than I could count that summer and cried out for the girls in India; for a physical and spiritual release of these beloved girls who were trapped by sinful men in acrimonious brothels.

Here’s where I get to the unsettling part. What do I do with this information, this passion? I’ve learned to hate injustice, to know God’s heart better, to pray against prostitution, but is that it? I want to go to them, but I know now is not the time. I’ve sat in this frustrating place for a while. But, what I do know is this: the Lord is faithful and good and he will finish the good work he began. My expedition is not over and there is no need for unrest in the unknown.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...
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jmalvarez said...

Hey Christine,

First off, I must say, thank you for continuing to take the time to share what the Lord is revealing to you with the rest of us! I think its a beautiful thing to start praying for God himself and asking, "What touches your heart?" or "What are you feeling about this Lord and what can I do to bring you glory?". I love that you have shed light on such a difficult subject. You've reminded me to pray and seek ways to reach people outside my bubble.

Anonymous said...

Dearest Christine,
First of all, because you have the ability to monitor comments, I think you need to block this Huseyin guy (And Huseyin, if you are reading this, I want to say to you that if you respect women, you should not pursue them through the blogosphere, it doesn't work, nor is it safe for them. If a women responds to your inquiries for "romantic friendship" on a blog, it is unlikely that she is a very intelligent young woman; just know what you're getting into. As for for the woman who writes this blog, she is very intelligent, and will not respond to you.)

Now, on to your blog, dear Cris. I almost cried. I've been reading so much news day after day, and it has been really difficult. Yesterday, I read an article about a little boy in Congo (about 5) who was accused by his parents of practicing witchcraft, beaten, and then kicked out of his village. An owner of an orphanage, fortunately, too him in. But, the owner said, not all children that this happens to (he said it is a common occurrence) are so fortunate.

I honestly don't know, Cris. Just wait and pray, I guess. And give money to good organizations if you can. Maybe organize fundraisers and rallies. Personally, I am ashamed of how I have not been more active against injustice because of my prejudice toward the 'type' of person that is. Often, that 'type' of person is ridden with anxiety and likes to place this anxiety upon others. I wonder, is there a way to be active against social injustice in a more gracious manner?

I love the bit of your blog that goes like this:

"God can not be around sin; it is his antonym. Therefore, he hates sin. What? God hates? I thought, 'This is altering the way I view my Creator. He’s beginning to wear a lot more skin.'"

Well, put! Did you mean to allude to the incarnation? Our God does have skin! That's crazy. And it's crazy how the incarnation alters the way we view the Creator, and this mystery continues to shock us, even when we were practically born believing it.

Christine Nichole said...

Thank you, Brit. That was so, so encouraging. (And good call on Huseyin... sorry Huseyin, I love Turkey and I'm sure you're a nice guy but I do not do online romance.) Thanks for reminding me of the incarnation; I didn't mean to allude to it, but it makes total sense.

Michelle said...

Chris (that's what i call my real sis)...

Such a great post. Well written, well thought-out. i love you and your sensitive, emotional heart. You are going to do a lot of good in this world and i can't wait to see where He takes you! Keep loving and learning my dear! xoxo