Saw the movie last night starring Jim Caviezel. Have you seen it? Pretty stunning in so many ways. It was so stirring that I didn’t sleep well. Hence I am now piecing together an article about two hours before my alarm usually goes off.
Directed and co-written by Alejandro Monteverde, it has surprised many by becoming a summer box office smash.
About five years ago, Monteverde discovered Tim Ballard and felt this was a story that needed to be told. The success has surprised him. Even more surprising has been the controversy. He had hoped the story would unite us instead of further divide our nation.
Rather than enjoying a great drama and walking away inspired to battle injustice, some have taken shots at the film. An easy target has been the exaggerations in the film. As is commonly the case, a film “based on a true story” may take license with the details to spice it up considerably. For example, did the real Tim Ballard sneak into a jungle, kill a rebel leader, and then race away in a boat with the rescued girl? Nope. Ballard has never killed anyone, even when serving Homeland Security.
Were the children in the film exploited by their exposure to this theme? Nope. Every child actor had formerly been part of sex trafficking and willingly joined the cast. Was the story accurate regarding “Teddy” and the necklace? Yep.
Criticisms have been leveled regarding the depiction of trafficking as largely about kidnapping children and selling them to sweaty old men. Indeed, human trafficking is far more diverse. But Ballard himself acknowledges this, as does the organization he founded: Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.).
Answers for each and every criticism can be found on the O.U.R. website at this blog site. Additional details about the scope of their impressive work are available elsewhere on their website, including their efforts at aftercare for victims.
Compassion for Other Victims
In Into the Light: Healing Sexuality in Today’s Church, I relate the story of a sexual addict who from toddlerhood had been repeatedly abused sexually by his dad. Once I had him give his testimony in my church. At one point, he stated that people commonly hope for pedophiles to be put in dark cells in prison where inmates can abuse them. Then with tears in his eyes, he choked out the words: “I just remember that they were little boys once.”
A deep desire for justice can get twisted and vengeful when we think of such perpetrators. This was briefly depicted in the film. And without question, people who purposely traffic in children for any reason deserve whatever law enforcement and the courts render. But there are others who have simply been lured into this dark and evil labrynth by their own abuse and find themselves seemingly powerless to escape.
By the grace of God, I’ve had the privilege of counseling men who have been arrested for various acts of indecent exposure or the use of child pornography. And I’ve been called upon for consultation.
Confidentiality limits what I can share. But I do know that for some, abuse in childhood or becoming addicted to porn as a child can create this desire for greater and greater deviance in what is depicted online. Yes, they are accountable for every link they personally click, but the slippery slope, greased by sludge from hell, seems to pull them mercilessly into that pit.
I was called by a distressed parent, asking for advice. Her son had been exploring porn and had been duped into clicking a link. Without realizing it, the link downloaded child porn onto his laptop. From that point on, he was blackmailed into paying for more links with the threat that they would turn him into the police. Eventually, state troopers did raid his house and confiscate all electronics. Prison time may well be in his future.
When you hear the whole story for those kinds of victims, a dark cell seems an injustice as well. In fact, it makes me angry.
Late in the movie, my daughter Ruth nudged me as a character in the film described the vastness of human trafficking as a “dark tsunami”. Ah, there we go.
As pastors and counselors, wherever God leads you in your surfing efforts, invest your time, efforts, gifts, and finances wisely. This tsunami threatens to engulf the entire planet. There are many nonprofits operating rescue missions and offering aftercare at recovery houses. Some are more worthy of our support than others, so do you homework.
The comment section is open to everyone this time. Share the links or stories of those ministries who seem reliable as they address this diabolical madness.
PS: Just a reminder. If you are working with someone who is addicted to porn, recommend a group approach using my book Pure Hearted: Banding Together for Sexual Wholeness (Seedbed 2021)
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Mark, I too saw the Sound of Freedom last evening and am awesomeness early by the darkness of this world.I would like to share a reputable local organization that puts efforts into rescuing those children .It is called The Asservo Project.. I echo Mark’s encouragement to do your research and pray for discernment as people may be led to support such efforts. Praying for light in this darkness
Someone in my family was recently released from prison after spending 20 years there for sexually abusing his daughter and stepdaughter. I was the only one who wrote to him during that time, but I did have to stop writing to him when he made an inappropriate comment to me. He wanted to stop by and see me on his way somewhere else. I said he could, but that my girls wouldn't be there. He ended up not coming due to a schedule change, but I felt like I was willing to see him, but I wasn't going to force my girls to meet him when they knew what he had done and didn't feel comfortable meeting him. And as to the sexual slavery piece, it's heartbreaking. May God help us to find solutions.