Kobe's Mistake
July 21, 2003
Most of the world has seen Kobe Bryant's admission
of the "mistake" of adultery. What we haven't seen is how he
broke the news to his wife. Did she hear about Kobe's mistake
while watching the news on TV? Or, maybe a friend called to
comfort Vanessa only to find out she hadn't heard about the
mistake. It seems more likely that Kobe told her himself.
Did he start out by denying rape but admitting the
"mistake" of adultery? Or, did he initially deny the whole
thing? We'll never know. And we'll never know how Vanessa
responded when she heard about his mistake. At the press
conference she sat at Kobe's side, holding his right hand.
Hidden beneath her grief-swollen eyes had to be a load of anger,
hurt, and fear. Anger that he had risked everything for 45
minutes with a 19-year-old coed he didn't even know. Hurt that
he had betrayed her love. Fear that he might be found guilty of
rape and spend time behind bars.
None of us know Kobe. Sure, we know his public
persona. We've seen his mega-watt smile and spinning
in-your-face dunks. We've heard him speak with humility after
victory and grace after a loss. We know he's the third most
popular product endorser after Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan.
But we do not know the man or his family.
What we do know is that he was strong in public
and weak in private. We know that Kobe's mistake could be ours.
Granted, if he's found guilty of rape, that crime certainly
crosses over a line most men would never get near. But David,
Samson, and Solomon stepped into the perfumed noose of sexual
sins. Remember, we're talking about the godliest, strongest and
wisest men in the Old Testament.
That's why it's so important we follow the
exhortation of Paul when he said, "Flee from sexual immorality.
All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who
sins sexually sins against his own body" (1 Corinthians 6:18).
If you're looking for an example to follow, consider Joseph.
When a beautiful woman came to his room, he ran away.
We can avoid Kobe's mistake. But we must be as
strong in private as we are in public. For that to happen, the
next time temptation knocks on your door, send Jesus and then
run away.
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