“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor.”
Jeremiah 22:13 (NIV)
Slavery
The issue of slavery in Canada has long been glossed over by historians and by Canadian society in general. Substantive recognition of this past history of slavery did not begin until the 1960s. Nevertheless, slavery was actively practised in New France, both in the St. Lawrence Valley and in Louisiana. This institution, which endured for almost two centuries, affected the destiny of thousands of men, women and children descended from Aboriginal and African peoples. In Canada, the majority of slaves were not of African, but rather of Aboriginal origin.
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There have been those down through history who have tried to justify their support of slavery by using the Bible. In fact, the Bible clearly teaches that God stands against slavery in any way. Jeremiah 22:13 says this: “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labour.” The people of Israel had been enslaved by Pharoah for centuries. They knew the pain and indignity of slavery. Every single human being is created in the image of God. That is one of the first truths in the Bible. Another principle of the Kingdom of God is that a worker is worthy of his hire. The Bible speaks to this again and again. The sad news is that those involved in anti-slavery and anti-human trafficking organizations tell us that there are more people enslaved today than at any other time in history. The good news is that Christians are leading the battle against slavery and human trafficking, as we should be. God calls us to do all we can to stand for the worth of every human being.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley