Why Are You Not a Prostitute?

Did you grow up in a loving family and in a safe neighborhood? Do you have a good education and a good job? Have you avoided traps like drugs and alcohol? Do you hold high morals concerning your body and sexuality that you could never engage in something as low as prostitution?

Many of you, may have answered 'no' to these questions. You had tough childhood, you don't have a good education, and you were/are using drugs and alcohol, then why are you not a prostitute? Really ask yourself, "Why am I not a prostitute? What makes me different? What factors in my life have kept me from leading a life of prostitution?"

We have both thought about this question a lot since our internship. Why can one child grow up in an abusive household, be sexually abused as a child, get involved with drugs, and end up as a prostitute, while another child with the same issues doesn't? Or conversely, another child can grow up with a completely happy childhood, still get involved with drugs, and still end up as a prostitute.

It's really easy to detach ourselves from the issue of prostitution, as though it is simply a problem that affects them and not us. But the reality is, none of us are immune from going down this same path. So really, why aren't you a prostitute?

The more we thought about this we realized how complex it all is. But we did come up with a couple of answers: First, is the concept of Grace. Grace is being given something that we don't deserve and didn't earn. It was through God's grace that we could have great parents, a good education, and job skills to fall back on. It was also God's grace that prevented us from getting sucked into drugs and alcohol. Most importantly, it was God's grace that opened our eyes to Jesus. It's God's grace that keeps our eyes on Jesus. This doesn't leave much room for boasting in our own strengths, efforts, or wise decisions.

Second, is that everybody has a part of them that has been corrupted, which the Bible calls 'Sin.' This corruption shows itself in different ways with different people. For us, our sin will be different than to that of a prostitute but that doesn't mean that we are better or worse than them, only that it is displayed in a different way.

So why are the men we worked with in Houston involved in prostitution instead of working in an office job, with a nice family and home? There are, in fact, many people who are functional alcoholics and drug abusers, and will never in their lifetime end up on the streets. It's not that prostitutes haven't been shown grace, (everybody receives grace, this is referred to asCommon Grace, which God gives to everyone without distinction. One way this is shown, for example, is the gift of life), but the corruption in their hearts is different to that of an average drug user; the evil their hearts desire is stronger. And that is what leads them to a life of prostitution. They have chosen drugs for whatever reason that may be; many didn't choose prostitution, but prostitution is a consequence of what they have chosen. 

We're not saying we have concrete answers about all of this, it's just something we've been thinking about a lot. But we'll ask you again, why are you not a prostitute? Maybe some of you have further thoughts and better answers than we do.