No citizen should be at rest when far too many children cannot be at ease. When it comes to the subject of human trafficking, we ought to be self-appointed traffic cops. I made this statement in a blog I wrote about a year ago, and I thought of it again after hearing of the abduction of some Nigerian girls.

The Boko Haram are terrorists operating in and around Nigeria, and they’ve had schools, churches, and villages in their cross hairs. The “haram” portion of their name means “forbidden,” and they believe a western style education is a violation of Islamic law. The school girls from Nigeria are their latest victims, and they will most likely be sold as sex slaves.

Human trafficking is big business as it generates about $32 billion annually. How can anyone think of this as a profitable business when the loss column is framed with the images of innocent children—children victimized for the pleasure and sexual gratification of lowly scum?

Statistics tell us that two children are sold into the commercial sex trade every minute of every day. That is 525,600 a year X 2 children, which is over 1 million a year. Not just one year, but year after year. Think of how many precious lives have been ruined in your lifetime!

Even though President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, and the 13th Amendment declared slavery to be illegal, it has reared its ugly head in the form of sex trafficking; and it is a wicked scar on the face of humanity.

We need to pray for those who are preyed upon, and we need to support the efforts of those who are fighting the fight to free those who are still in bondage.