Forgiveness is a personal and difficult topic, no matter what your beliefs. Especially when it comes to the matter of tragic deaths.

A tragic shooting at an Amish School not far from where I used to live happened on Monday. Having lived near the Amish for 7 years while my wife was going through her Residency, I came to appreciate these very private people. After reading this article on CNN, I'm more and more convinced that these folks have the right idea.

To quote from CNN:

PARADISE, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- A grieving grandfather told young relatives not to hate the gunman who killed five girls in an Amish schoolhouse massacre, a pastor said on Wednesday.

"As we were standing next to the body of this 13-year-old girl, the grandfather was tutoring the young boys, he was making a point, just saying to the family, 'We must not think evil of this man,'" the Rev. Robert Schenck told CNN.

"It was one of the most touching things I have seen in 25 years of Christian ministry."

End quote.

This grandfather has it right. What an example, and what words of wisdom under horribly painful circumstances. We don't understand why things like this happen. But so often we fail to teach that revenge and anger aren't always the most constructive responses to things like this.

I'm certainly not a pacifist. However, I really feel this is the right answer to be teaching these affected children at this stage. There's no constructive purpose in breeding hatred into a generation. I truly admire this grandfather for teaching this. If only others in other parts of the world had had this insight, perhaps the world would not be the mess it is today.