During the Christmas season, my church embarked on a radical journey. The sermon series was called “What Child is This?”, and focused on the heinous acts of human trafficking.

We partnered with an amazing organization, International Justice Mission, and sent our entire offering from the Sunday before Christmas and Christmas Eve to help free those in slavery.

Recently, a friend of mine shared an incident he encountered during the holidays. He saw a church member out, and he commented that he hadn’t seen them lately. The man said they haven’t been coming to church because the sermon series was too depressing.

Wow. That response has gnawed at me ever since it reached my heart.
Depressing? Sure, it wasn’t your typical “Jesus was born to save us all, so let’s sing ‘Joy to the World’ and feel warm and fuzzy inside” sermon.

Yes, it’s depressing to think that there are perhaps thousands of little ten-year-old girls forced to live in a brothel and do unspeakable things with an unimaginable amount of men. Every. Single. Day.

Yes, it’s depressing to know that there are countless six-year-old little boys ripped from their homes and forced to haul heavy bricks every day. All. Day. Long.

Yes, it’s depressing to be aware of the entire families living within the confines of barbed wire fences, abused and forced to work in rice mills. Every. Waking. Moment.

However, there is one thing more depressing than each of these scenarios, and the many others not mentioned. It’s the thought that so many people, who claim to follow Christ and His teachings, choose to turn their backs on these people. Simply because they don’t want to be depressed.

Call me crazy, but I’d much rather be depressed and do something, than be joyful and useless.