There's an interesting book that I heard about this morning called Not For Sale. This is one man's investigation of modern slavery. The author, a San Franciscan, was spurred for this concept when he found out that a local restaurant he frequented was using slaves from India for their daily operations. I haven't read it yet, but I hope to soon.

This past October I had the opportunity to hear a woman speak on behalf of International Justice Mission at a conference I was attending. While she was not the most charismatic speaker, she was very effective at communicating. Quite frankly, I don't think she would have been as effective if she was charismatic. However, I learning some incredible things.

Did you know that nearly 1,000,000 people are trafficked (taken against their will) across international borders every year? Did you know that there are 27,000,000 people who are enslaved in the world today? While this accounts for less than one-half percent of humanity, it is still a staggering number.

The more I learn about the social and physical oppression that occurs in our world, the more I have trouble with the ways we spend money here in America. Beyond our needs, we throw money into all sorts of junk that fades. I'm not saying that America should be more like another country. I don't really want to go to another country to live. There is nowhere else in this world that is a better platform to help humanity. In a land where free speech and opinion abounds, we should use such an opportunity, which does have its price, to impact the world for the better. Instead of trying to save 25 cents on our $4.53 coffee, let's allocate that money back to the grower and the harvesters.

I have learned about some extraordinary organizations over the past few years that might know be as well-known as Compassion Int'l. International Justice Mission, Blood:Water Mission, and Hagar International are just a few. Another interesting one is Jedidiah clothing company that is driven to make the world a better place through avenues of love.

I love these types of organizations and companies because they have the main goal of show people Jesus through love. There isn't an indoctrination of beliefs. There is a confidence that the human heart and spirit will respond to actions and love and want to know more about it. Isn't this what Jesus was about? He wasn't about just giving answers. He was about the response to love and the discovery of how deep that loves goes.