Toward a More Humane Future is a devotional study on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for use by individuals or groups.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Scripture
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1
Reflection
- In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he laments their backsliding and return to their previous habits of idolatry as if they were enslaved by it. Consider ways that your habits and prejudices may hold you captive. How might you find you find freedom through Christ?
- If inner servitude to idols of our society, addictions and desires that keep us from loving God and all of God’s creation challenge us, consider injustices in the world that equate to modern day slavery: child prostitution, pornography, and human trafficking, child soldiery and exploitation of children as farm and factory workers, abusive employment or false promise of employment to immigrants. What do you know about these issues? What do you need to know?
- Visit Free the Slaves to learn about modern day slavery.
- How can we combat human tendency to sin and societal tendency to exploit through our Christian mission to love mercy, do justice, and walk humbly with God?
Action
- Learn about the work of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Human Trafficking Roundtable. Find ideas for action.
- Contact your travel company about The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism. Demand that they adhere to responsible business practices that crack down on the sexual exploitation of children through travel tours, hotels and other venues.
- Find ways to participate in the anti-slavery efforts of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.
- Join the Presbyterian Child Advocacy Office, Peacemaking Program and Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations Office in saying “No” to the use of child soldiers through the “Red Hands” campaign. By delivering “red hand” to world leaders, help call for the universal ratification and enforcement of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
Prayer
God our creator, you make us for freedom yet we oppress one another. We are grateful for our lives and our bodies, but we are willing to exploit the lives and bodies of others. Help us stop our return to sinful ways and make the world a safer place for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and violence. We ask especially for safety and security for our children, for all your children across the globe, that they might live full lives free from sexual abuse, forced soldiery, forced servitude at farms and factories and from slavery of all kinds. Christ, Jesus, hear our prayers. Amen
Share your reflections and actions with the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations.
Thanks to Ellen Clark Clemot