By James Wilson
One rallying cry of the sixties was, “But it’s a victimless crime.” Everything from prostitution to pornography to psychedelic drugs was a victimless crime – including aborting the unborn. The problem is that there is simply no such thing as a victimless crime. And the jury is now in. Take prostitution for a moment – or take it as it really is – human trafficking.
During my 2014 trip to pray through the western state capitols I spent time in the Salem (Oregon) House of Prayer. The director gave me a thorough tour of the place, including the hidden tunnels leading to the secret rooms of the night club that preceded the ministry. The previous owner – gunned down by mobsters in Las Vegas – had a thriving drug and prostitution business that brought in a lot more cash than his liquor license. And the secret rooms? They housed the young girls – often very young – who serviced the clientele. The club boasted a state-of-the-art sound system that could be cranked up to mask the screams coming from those secret rooms. There is simply no such thing as a victimless crime.
The most horrific cruelty of human trafficking is inflicted on the young people who are conned, sold or kidnapped into the trade – many before they even reach puberty. But the children and spouses of those who profit from the trade – and those who finance it with their fees-for-services – must live with parents and partners who view everyone but themselves as commodities rather than persons. This is what study after study demonstrates. These family members may not even know why they live as the fruit of such a perverted view of humankind, but they live in it nonetheless, and often find themselves unable to enter and sustain healthy covenant relationships.
And though they are themselves the perpetrators of the atrocity, the traffickers and their clients suffer the dehumanization that is the consequence of their behavior, just as the slaveholders of early America suffered under the system they created and sustained. These so-called victimless crimes brutalize everyone who comes in contact with them. Not every perp will end the way the Salem club owner did – in a pool of his own blood – but everyone either repents and seeks healing through God or it ends badly – one way or another.
What about the other victimless crimes? If a person becomes addicted to hard drugs like heroin or meth what difference does it make to others? Never mind destruction of the addict’s family. Law enforcement estimates eighty to ninety per cent of felons behind bars are there for drug related offenses – from assault to murder to rape to trafficking. Those crimes impact victims.
But soft drugs like marijuana – surely that is an offense without injury. Not! Mexican drug cartels swarmed California the moment we legalized so-called medicinal marijuana; they set up shop in Colorado the day recreational use was okayed. And none of this takes into account the increase in car crashes from driving under the influence or the decrease in productivity and on-the-job safety for drug users. These stats must be added to those for alcohol abuse, and let’s not even get started on the links between drug abuse and domestic violence.
What about pornography? Isn’t that just looking at something your wife and pastor might not approve? Again, studies heaped atop studies at major universities demonstrate progressive desensitization of the user to human suffering and escalating disengagement from family members. Repeated use leaves a trainwreck of broken or just perpetually suffering families in its wake, including those of many pastors. And let’s remember a high percentage of these materials are produced by the victims of human trafficking.
Finally, however, let’s remember the Son of God says the people who victimize themselves in these ways do not belong to themselves. He claims He bought them on His Cross. He says He did it to win for us abundant life, not a shadowy existence of limping from one high to another – whatever makes us high. His attitude is summed up in a letter written to the people of Ephesus by one of His friends – who learned the hard way while on his back in the middle of the road from Jerusalem to Damascus. Paul recommended we skip the intoxication of anything but God’s own Holy Spirit. He said we ought to seek that Holy Spirit high on a daily basis.
There is no such thing as a victimless crime. But there is a God who lives to set us free from our addictions. Our contribution is our repentance – applied as often as needed – daily works best.
James A. Wilson is the author of Living As Ambassadors of Relationships, The Holy Spirit and the End Times, and Kingdom In Pursuit – available at local bookstores or by e-mailing him at praynorthstate@charter.net
