Have you seen any good movies lately?  It seems like we’ve had a lull of quality choices, but I’m very excited about the release of Les Miserables starring Anne Hathaway.  To be honest, I never read the book nor did I know much about the play or movie until a recent article came out about Hathaway’s role in the movie.

I’m not into celebrity stalking; that’s not what drew my attention to the article.  The Examiner.com did a story about Hathaway’s role in the movie as Fantine, a poor girl turned prostitute. The writer shared that Hathaway read everything she could find about human sex trafficking and watched documentaries about it to connect with her character for the movie.  While her research was craft driven, her findings rocked her world and have caused her to speak out publicly about this abdominal crime against women and children.

Hathaway said,

I came to the realization that this injustice exists in our world and Fantine is probably just a block away. “

In Luke 10:27, Jesus tells us,

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.”

An expert in the law asked Jesus who his neighbor was.  Jesus responds by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-35.  Jesus asks the expert in the law a question found in Luke 10:36-37,

Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”  The expert in the law replied,  “The one who had mercy on him. Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

What does that mean for you or me?  We cannot afford to read articles about human sex trafficking taking place in our nation and walk by as if we didn’t see them.  We can’t hear news stories or messages from organization about this injustice and do nothing.  If we do, we’re failing to “go and do likewise.”

I applaud Anne Hathaway.  She wasn’t looking for a philanthropic cause to take up.  She was simply doing her due diligence as an actress preparing for a role in a movie.  In doing so, she stumbled upon staggering research that she couldn’t look away from as if she hadn’t seen it.  She’s used her platform to speak out against it.  Now she may not start an organization or tour the country speaking out about it, but her name draws people’s attention.  Her voice will reach more than your average person and she’s chosen to use it to speak against the horror of human sex trafficking.

Now you know.  What are you going to do about it?  God has given you a sphere of influence, even if it isn’t the big screen. Use it to broaden awareness of this issue. Looking for ideas? Not sure what to do? Click here to find out about organizations involved in the fight and see where you can plug in and make a difference. There are lives depending on it.

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