"For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
- Genesis 3:5

I’m certain the story of Adam and Eve and the cosmic treason they committed against God in the Garden of Eden is a story you’ve heard before. Whether you were raised in church or not, the story of Creation and the fall of mankind is often referred to in modern culture through movies, books, plays, and even staged comedy.

Because Adam and Eve chose not to resist the serpent’s temptations and ate from the only tree God commanded them not to, sin entered the world. Perfect paradise was tarnished, and mankind became aware of good and evil and all the ugly urges, feelings, and suffering that came with knowing.

This was never God’s intention for us. (Thank goodness, He had a greater plan, right?)

But now, evil runs rampant. It has permeated our culture so thoroughly that we’ve become accustomed to it and, unfortunately, we’ve learned to excuse ourselves through media scrolling, practiced complacency, and self-imposed busyness.

It’s become easy to ignore what we cannot see with our eyes, hear with our ears, or touch with our hands. The intangible evil of lust and coercion are difficult to picture (and prosecute), especially in most parts of America.

But did you know?

Kids are being sold by relatives and are brutally trafficked and violently raped by their buyers.

Women are being deceived, drugged, and prostituted with the false promise of financial stability.

Men of all ages are being threatened into forced labor without seeing a dime of earnings.