A Little Background
A little more than three years ago I sat in the crowded living room of Megan and Luke. This couple was leading a church small group that was discussing Francis Collin’s Language of God. However, this was our last meeting and the week before they asked, “Instead of discussing the book we were wondering if we could watch a video about modern-day slavery next week.” All of us agreed to this.
The video that they showed was called The End of Slavery and was produced by International Justice Mission (IJM). At the end of the video Megan and Luke informed us that they were recruiting guests for an upcoming IJM benefit dinner. This sounded really intriguing, relevant and important so I looked into this benefit dinner a little more. Upon discovering that the event loosely requires formal attire a light bulb went off in my head.
Those that know my wife and I know that we really dig the mountains and that we dress pretty casually almost all the time. However, we try to do one date a month where we dress up in nice clothes. This IJM Benefit seemed like it would make a great “dress-up” date.
Fast forward three years later. Today is the day after our 4th IJM Benefit dinner. It has become our favorite date night of the year and we have hosted a table for the past two years. We tried being table recruiters three years ago, but that is another story all together!
Reflection on Saju’s Keynote Address
When I got home from the event last night I had trouble falling sleep from the excitement of the evening and perhaps even more so trying to process what Saju, IJM’s Director of Operations in South East Asia, had shared with us. Saju made an argument that identity and the process affecting change are interrelated. Saju used three contrasting vignettes to illustrate his argument of which I would like to share two.
The first was the fictional tale of the Ugly Duckling—a story that he told his kids at bedtime. I am guessing that most of us are familiar with the details of this story. So, what point would Saju make with this story? It was not until the duckling happens upon a flock of swans in a lake and seeing his reflection that the duckling realizes that he is in fact not a duckling at all. His identity is that of a swan and this realization of identity changes the course of the duckling’s outlook on life.
The second vignette that Saju shared with us began with a harrowing story of woman rescued from slavery in India. It was heartbreaking to hear that when this women shared her nightmare with an official after being rescued from her persecutors the official began yelling at her and accusing her of lying. Saju was shocked! After some thinking about this experience, Saju hypothesized that this official, as a law-enforcement official, was not aware of what his identity should be with respect to helping the helpless. Saju then went on to contrast this to a story of an experience for him when he was living in Philadelphia.
His son, who happened to be in kindergarten, had come home from school after learning about dialing 911 for emergencies. To impress his older brother he decided to test out his new learned knowledge and he called 911 in front of his brother. When someone on the other end picked up he exclaimed, “There is a monster in the house!” and then hung up. Several minutes later a police officer showed up at the house stating that an emergency call had come from this address. Obviously, this shocked Saju’s wife who had answered the door. When Saju’s wife stated that everything in the house was fine and assured the police officer that there was not a monster in the house the police officer was not completely satisfied. He asked if he could enter the home to confirm this. Why did this officer of the law not take the mother at her word and just leave? Because he knew his identity as on officer of the law was to protect the innocent and he wanted to fulfill the responsibility that came with this identity.
Saju went on to explain how there is a justice system in India where there are laws that protect the poor and the innocent. Obviously, this system was not working when the official, with overwhelming evidence in front of him to convict the perpetrator in the case of the woman slave, instead lashes out at the victim calling her a liar. However, Saju then shared with us a recent case where the opposite occurred in India, where the perpetrator was convicted. He shared with us about programs that IJM has started in India that train the local police force to enforce the laws that protect the poor and vulnerable. Moreover, the government there is beginning to be pro-active and asking IJM for advice on trafficking issues and how to address them. Why? Because with the help of this wonderful organization the justice system is seeing its reflection in the lake and realizing its true identity. Which was the final point of Saju’s address, when we help individuals realize their identities it will begin to change the identity of communities, governmental systems, countries and the world.
The current reality is that there are still millions of people in slavery in India. Saju, however, believes that India is on the cusp of eradicating this disease from their society. After hearing his message I share his optimism.
What This Means For Me
This brings us back to me falling asleep last night, or rather trying to fall asleep. I could not get this identity thing out of my head. What is my identity? What is the identity of our systems here in the US? Do these identities need to change (this is rhetorical hence the next question). How?
I remember recalling a story with Helene last night about one of my favorite musicians named Phil Keaggy. I use to be groupy of sorts. I remember visiting his website years ago—probably ten years ago—and seeing that he had a concert in DC. There was a number to call for ticket information. When I called the number a sweet woman on the other end informed me that the show was for a benefit dinner for an agency that fights slavery, tickets were $100, and this was the kicker, Phil would only be playing two, maybe three songs. I hung up the phone and said to myself, “Well, I guess I won’t be going to see that show, geez, who would pay $100 to see Phil only play two songs?”
Three years ago at that first IJM event was a catalyst for me to realize my identity, something that I was not ready for when I wanted to see Phil years earlier. I think many of us, perhaps myself above all, plead with God, “Why is there so much suffering in the world? Why don’t you do something about it? Then we neglect to listen, because most of the time God whispers back to us, “My child do you not see your identity? You ask for me to do something about the suffering in the world and I have. I created you.”
To be honest, I am still very selfish in so many ways but I honestly believe that I have discovered my identity. My identity is that I am a child of God which makes my purpose simple; allow myself to be loved by God and to share that love with others.
