Leo Tolstoy described prophecy as “a spark that is lit in a dry wood.” He said, “It will burn and burn until the wood, hay, and stubble is consumed.” He used slavery as an example of this in history. Slavery was found in virtually every nation and tribe on earth until it was clearly articulated in human language that it was evil. He said that spark was lit by the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which so powerfully described the evils of slavery that it became intolerable in civilized nations until it was eradicated by every available means, including civil war.

      The most prominent of America’s Founding Fathers was George Washington. He wrote, "There is not a man living that wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery." We may ask, then, why he didn't propose such a plan. Why did he not use the full weight of his national stature to eradicate it? That is one of the enigmas of and reproaches on the founders of our republic.

      Of course, some did propose plans, and some, such as John Adams, labored until their death for the abolition of slavery. His resolution to do this became so great that it became a fire that could not be put out without the Civil War. Ultimately, this was accomplished at the greatest cost the nation would ever pay. Nearly a half million people died, and countless others were maimed.

      George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and others freed their own slaves in their wills. This was the only way this could be done at that time because of fines imposed on those who freed their slaves, first by the British and then the state governments. These fines were so large they would have bankrupted their estates. Had they freed the slaves before their deaths, and the freed slaves would have been reincarcerated to pay the difference.

      One wonders how such an unjust law could have been imposed to two such great national leaders of their stature. Shouldn’t they have tested this by freeing their slaves in violation of this most unjust law? They did not challenge it, so this remains the biggest blight on their reputations, as well as the nation’s.

      There will often be reasons not to do the right thing, but it will almost always ultimately be far costlier to hesitate and delay it. It sure cost our country a lot, and in many ways, we’re still paying the price for this terrible delay. This evil has also not been eradicated. With the multibillion-dollar business that human trafficking now is, it is estimated there are now more slaves on the earth than at any previous time in history.

      What are we going to do about this?

      One thing that would have the most immediate impact would be to demand that our federal government close our borders to illegal immigration. Not only does illegal immigration allow terrorists who want to do Americans harm to access the entire nation, but it is also perhaps the biggest boon to human trafficking. With so many of our national leaders complicit in this by allowing such evil to continue, they are even more accountable for this than any of the Founding Fathers. However, are we not also guilty for allowing such leaders to stay in office? In a republic, the people are the sovereign rulers. The government works for us, not the other way around.

      We must resolve that we will not allow any form of slavery in our land on our watch. We must not allow any human trafficking that could feed the evil beast of slavery—especially the most abominable of all evils, the sex trafficking of children. Those who do this, and those who allow it, should receive the greatest punishments of all.

      We must also resolve that as the sovereign, there will be no discrimination on the basis of race, faith, or culture. We must esteem all peoples and cultures, respect and uphold the freedom of religion for all, and not tolerate injustice to anyone in any form. Our God is so creative that He made each of us unique, and even made every snowflake and every leaf on every tree unique. To be like Him is to especially value and appreciate His creativity in our differences, not fight over them.

© 2024 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.