We are living in an age of increasing anger. The invasion of the public space by social media and its allies has seen an instant rush to judgement in many circumstances not experienced before outside of revolutions and social upheaval. There is outrage at everything, the smallest infraction bringing a freight of invective, almost always poorly informed. But here we are anyway.

Lately in Australia we have had some high-profile criminal cases, and the mobs have been baying. I understand that if you have been a victim of crime (and many people have) then you have a emotional stake in a judicial outcome. That's only natural. But there are victims and there are victims, just as there are crimes and crimes. Not every victim of a crime gets over what has happened to them. Others seem to brush off the hurts inflicted and move rapidly into the stream of life, warier, no doubt, but moving on nevertheless. People are different.

Whereas once there was very little support for victims of crime, there is now an awful lot. I can tell you from personal experience that, no matter how empathetic and kind the supporter is, there is a very real risk of being sucked into a self-sustaining cycle of victim-hood, if the prevailing environment fosters it. What's needed is a balance of empathy and assistance, together with an active understanding that humans have a natural resiliency which needs to be encouraged and nurtured. The crimes against the self can be processed and faced head-on, but something has to come after. I have seen people in the past week on the the television demanding tougher justice because they have been in a state of victim-hood for forty years!

I spent a year in my own counselling practise and then five years in front-line welfare services and met many people who had been victims of crimes, some too awful to describe here. My colleagues and I always gave them a good hearing and tried to supply what we could to meet their needs. Over that time I saw people pick themselves up and get on with life, such as it was, and I continued to meet with others who seemed stuck in the past. I merely observe that the former were happier and engaged with living in a way that promoted healthy change. The latter, far less so.

Jesus, who had good reason to be angry about his rough handling and murder, said in Matthew 7.1, "Do not judge or you too will be judged." Moreover leaving judgement to God alone absolves one of any need for vengeance. Not everyone can believe these things, I know, but it helps at a fundamental level in the healing process.