I'll speak generally and say that forgiving someone doesn't need to be public and on the news, and spoken about at all, much less right at the moment when you're possibly emotional.

When he said there's no racial element, that's just incorrect. Even if there was zero racial motive in that crime or anything to talk about wtih racial background of that perpetrator, you cannot deny how the two circumstances are treated there isn't a racial element.

It's like saying there's no racial element in the OJ Simpson trial. I don't think OJ committed murder for racial motives, but it's one of our most racial moments in US history as a significant amount of one side rooted for murder to be allowed for racial motives.

So wise, or unwise, him saying no one should bring up race is just incorrect, as those who have been paying attention notice where the disproportionate amount of violence is coming from and the attitude of that community.

But you have to grant that he could have been in an irrational and emotional state and stuck his foot in his mouth because it's his way of dealing with the trauma. His example is actually too unreliable because if your son just died, it's just about impossible to make a guess of what was going through his mind.

To answer what a wise forgiveness would look like, there's Christians who have talked about having a loved one murdererd and the years it took to forgive the person, but they were ultimately led by God to forgive the person. This wasn't a public thing, it wasn't on the news, it's just something that they wrestle with and the timing is different for everyone.

I find myself having to forgive people I've already forgiven because something will remind me of something and the wound gets opened up again and I have to remember what Jesus forgave me of, and I let it go.

Forgiveness is something you do and isn't a showy thing for the news and the community. No one even has to know you have forgiven someone or even know that someone has wronged you.

If it comes up at an appropriate time, it's not wrong to talk about it.

I think in Austin's father's case, he had the misfortune of, because of the racial dynamics of the country, get catapulted into the media with perhaps pressure, at the very least a subconcious knowing pressure of being labelled this or that and may have made a mistake.

I think the best thing Austin's father should have done is said a very short thing, just said "I'm in mourning and I don't want to speak" which not one person would fault anyone in that position for saying.

Then bring that hurt to God with the help of other loved ones. That forgiveness process doesn't have to be in any way public or for cameras. The world isn't obligated to know your wrestling with difficult topics and working out how to forgive.

No one expects someone to be able to forgive something like that immediately. There's an expectation that it will take time and healing.

So what I'd say is it wasn't the best thing for the father to go the route he did. I'm not able to judge his heart and actually Christians are commanded not to judge other people's heart. He and I have the same judge, so it's not my job to judge his heart.

I can just say there were issues that arose with what he did and how he did it. His heart may have been in the right place. Your heart can be in the right place and make the wrong decision because we're easily misled by our heart and our heart is deceitful.

But again, his son just died, so a lot of latitude should be granted to someone in that position.

I'm more irritated at the culture that promotes and continues to promote a sacred cow-ism of the ghetto culture where no one can ever say what's obvious.

But Austin's father should be given grace because he probably wasn't in his right head.

I'll speak generally and say that forgiving someone doesn't need to be public and on the news, and spoken about at all, much less right at the moment when you're possibly emotional.

When he said there's no racial element, that's just incorrect. Even if there was zero racial motive in that crime or anything to talk about wtih racial background of that perpetrator, you cannot deny how the two circumstances are treated there isn't a racial element.

It's like saying there's no racial element in the OJ Simpson trial. I don't think OJ committed murder for racial motives, but it's one of our most racial moments in US history as a significant amount of one side rooted for murder to be allowed for racial motives.

So wise, or unwise, him saying no one should bring up race is just incorrect, as those who have been paying attention notice where the disproportionate amount of violence is coming from and the attitude of that community.

But you have to grant that he could have been in an irrational and emotional state and stuck his foot in his mouth because it's his way of dealing with the trauma. His example is actually too reliable because if your son just died, it's just about impossible to make a guess of what was going through his mind.

To answer what a wise forgiveness would look like, there's Christians who have talked about having a loved one murdererd and the years it took to forgive the person, but they were ultimately led by God to forgive the person. This wasn't a public thing, it wasn't on the news, it's just something that they wrestle with and the timing is different for everyone.

I find myself having to forgive people I've already forgiven because something will remind me of something and the wound gets opened up again and I have to remember what Jesus forgave me of, and I let it go.

Forgiveness is something you do and isn't a showy thing for the news and the community. No one even has to know you have forgiven someone or even know that someone has wronged you.

If it comes up at an appropriate time, it's not wrong to talk about it.

I think in Austin's father's case, he had the misfortune of, because of the racial dynamics of the country, get catapulted into the media with perhaps pressure, at the very least a subconcious knowing pressure of being labelled this or that and may have made a mistake.

I think the best thing Austin's father should have done is said a very short thing, just said "I'm in mourning and I don't want to speak" which not one person would fault anyone in that position for saying.

Then bring that hurt to God with the help of other loved ones. That forgiveness process doesn't have to be in any way public or for cameras. The world isn't obligated to know your wrestling with difficult topics and working out how to forgive.

No one expects someone to be able to forgive something like that immediately. There's an expectation that it will take time and healing.

So what I'd say I wouldn't say it was the best thing for the father to go the route he did. I'm not able to judge his heart and actually Christians are commanded not to judge other people's heart. He and I have the same judge, so it's not my job to judge his heart.

I can just say there were issues that arose with what he did and how he did it. His heart may have been in the right place. Your heart can be in the right place and make the wrong decision because we're easily misled by our heart and our heart is deceitful.

But again, his son just died, so a lot of latitude should be granted to someone in that position.

I'm more irritated at the culture that promotes and continues to promote a sacred cow-ism of the ghetto culture where no one can ever say what's obvious.

But Austin's father should be given grace because he probably wasn't in his right head.