"I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred; he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else’s freedom, just as surely as I am not truly free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity  " -Nelson Mandela.

Last night, I listened as several individuals told stories of how they were dehumanized by sexual assault and domestic violence. As you can tell by my entry yesterday, I anticipated being fairly disturbed and upset by the testimonies. I was disturbed, but not because of the content of the stories. I was disturbed by the lack of healing, the bitterness, the hatred, and the rejoicing in the suffering of the oppressor. 

What I realized last night is true healing cannot occur without forgiveness.  Because God's healing has been sufficient in my life, I was okay both listening to others and reflecting on my own experiences.  However, the voices that I heard were not okay. They were damaged, scarred  and imprisoned by their outrage at their nightmares.

As the Mandela quote indicates, both the oppressed and the oppressor are held captive by the injustice committed. I cannot rejoice in someone being thrown in jail regardless of how heinous their crime may have been. Even when deserved justice is served, there is still a human life that is lost and imprisoned by the sentencing. The oppressed and the oppressor are of the same essence, of the same humanity. What makes one the victim and the other the perpetrator is a combination of circumstance, sin, and receptiveness to the evil in the world.   Rejoicing in another's suffering never results in freedom; it merely shifts the chains and bindings.

"Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
   “I will take revenge;
      I will pay them back,”
      says the Lord.
 Instead,
   “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
      If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
   In doing this, you will heap
      burning coals of shame on their heads.”
  Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good." Romans 12:19-21 [NLT]

 Scripture provides instruction to forgive, to love, and to trust God to handle judgment. However, the most disturbing part of this equation is how few people realize that God loves them and cares for their circumstance. A few people mentioned God in their testimonies, but even their words showed little understanding  of how much He cares for them. God's love is the only solution; His love covers a multitude of sin - both those we commit and those committed against us. Unless we allow Jesus to replace our bitterness with His love, we are never truly healed- even if the pieces appear to be back together again.