Have you ever wondered why the rape victim gets blamed for it? Or why they blame themselves? I have.
Have you ever wondered why a bully victim is told to "just toughen up and they'll back off" as though it somehow their fault the bully chose to target them? I have.
And have you ever wondered why an abused spouse gets so little support from so many people? I definitely have.
Did you wonder, as I did, reading about the Rotherham report why the police looked the other way? Or why sex abuse victims of Asian background stay silent because of the shame they'll bring on their family?
Or do you hear about the recent sex crimes (let's call it like it is) against celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence and wonder why on earth everybody is blaming her? I did.
Then I read an article on Psychology Today addressing exactly that issue. Are we blaming the famous victims of the nude photo thefts? And, after I read it, I understood the world a little bit more. And saw more clearly just what the affects of sin has had on the world.
Turns out, there's this thing called the Just World Phenomenon. This is essentially our instinctive belief (or need to believe) that the world is a just and fair place. Humans have such a strong reaction against injustice that in order to create the perception of justice, they find reasons to blame the victims of injustice. The greater the injustice, the stronger the reaction of blaming the victim. This, therefore, eradicates the injustice of the world and everything is right and fair and proper again.
Except that it isn't. Because children are still being abused. Women (and men) are still being taken advantage of. Private property is still being stolen. And now, not only is the unjust act happening, it is also being encouraged as people look the other or blame the victim.
And the great irony of this entire phenomenon is that the very desire for justice, the need for justice, is what causes some of the greatest injustices.
It's what says that prostitutes must enjoy their work or they would leave - allowing extreme sexual, emotional, psychological and spiritual abuse to continue unchecked. It's what leaves abused husbands and wives trapped in their abusive circumstances. It's what leaves a child feeling drained and empty as they are being bullied - because let me tell you, as someone who spent years of my life being bullied, it is the thought that you deserve what is happening to you that hurts the most. As though somehow my white skin, funny accent, strange religion and intelligence gave the bully a license to bully me.
And here's what I have realized: it is only when we recognize that the world is an unjust place that justice can be served. It is only when we can wrap our heads around the contradiction that is our world - the belief in the existence of justice and the undeniable presence of injustice - that we can begin to heal the wounds of the hurting.
Because it's true - justice is a fundamental part of the design of the world. Injustice was never the intention of our Creator. I'm starting to think that the longing for, the desire for, justice is part of what it means to be created in His image. Our world was designed to be a place of justice. And humans were designed to be just and fair.
Only something went very, very wrong. One split second of desiring something more than perfection has led to a whole world of imperfection. One split second of desiring something more than justice has lead to a whole world of injustice. We sinned. And the world became an unjust place. And people became an unjust people.
And so we can understand a little more of the state of the world. We were designed for justice, so we long for it and see the world through the lens of "is this just?" But we sinned, so we live in the middle of injustice, dishing out injustice.
But, hey! Good news. Our perfectly just God will do something about all the injustice. It hurts Him even more than it hurts us. He will rectify injustice. He will bring justice to all those who perpetrated injustice. He will punish them, severely.
But in His perfect justice, He is also perfectly merciful. So He has provided an escape from His punishment. By passing the punishment to One who did not deserve it. To Jesus. Injustice merits death. Just Jesus died (and then came back to life!) so that unjust humans could live. And this escape? It is sufficient for everyone. But it is efficient only for those who choose to take it.
And it's when we realize that a) the world is unjust, b) justice will be served and c) mercy has been given that we can begin to heal the wounds of injustice. Because we're not pointing fingers or pretending that injustice doesn't exist. Instead, we're acknowledging that injustice is rampant - and offering the solution.
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