August 17, 2004
Kobe Bryant vs. St. Francis of Assisi: Who Will Be Your Child's Role Models?
As I sit here pondering the upcoming birth of my first-born son, I can't help but wonder about how he will look at me. I hope to be a positive role model in his life, but I am realistic enough to know that he will look up to others. More often than not our children tend to make athletes their primary role models, be it Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Michael Vick, Ray Lewis, Sammy Sosa, Chipper Jones, Derek Jetter, Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, Rodger Federer, Jennifer Capriati, Serena Williams, Jeff Gordon, Dale Ernhart, Jr., Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Sheryl Swoopes, Lauren Jackson, or Michael Phelps. All are great athletes, some are individuals of high moral standards. I am personally a big sports fan and an admirer of individuals who give themselves so completely to something. Yet, in light of the reality of my own child coming into this world, I realize that I have to point him toward the greater good, ultimately to life-everlasting.
How many of us parents point our children to the examples of the saints, men and women who desired nothing more than to live their lives completely dedicated to Jesus Christ and the Church He founded? Down through the centuries the Catholic Church has pointed to these individuals as role models for us. Like athletes they have shown us the meaning of dedication, discipline, determination, faith, hope, and, ultimately, love. Yet unlike athletes, at least most athletes, they have not desired any recognition or glory here on earth. It is their love for Jesus that drove them to seek His will for their lives, not any worldly reward. By studying the lives of the saints we find many wonderful examples of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
The title of this article pits Kobe Bryant against St. Francis of Assisi. Kobe has been in the media a lot these days due to the legal situation he is facing in Colorado and the many changes occurring in Los Angeles. No doubt, he is a tremendous athlete. He has proven this time and again over the course of his career, but is Kobe Bryant the type of man we would want our children admiring and attempting to imitate? St. Francis on the hand was a man who, like Kobe Bryant, had wealth and reknown, and yet abandoned it all in order to live a life of chastity, poverty, and obedience. He sought only to please God. He was a true reformer of the Church in that, unlike others, he did not abandon the Church founded by Jesus Christ, but rather brought about change, for the good, from within. His holiness was so great that during his life, it is documented, that he bore the wounds of Christ, the stigmata. To this day the Franciscan orders work throughout the world, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, ministering to the poor and needy. St. Francis is just one example of the type of role model our children need today. We live in a materialistic and doubting world. St. Francis points us to Jesus Christ, showing us what it means to store our riches in heaven and what it means to put all our trust in God.
I encourage all of you to read the lives of the saints, especially those of you with children. Share them with your children, show them your admiration for men and women who mirror the life of Jesus Christ. For those of you with older children, encourage your children to read the lives of the saints.
May all the saints and angels pray for each and every one of us. May they always point us to Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Joe
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i dont care what no one says kobe might have some court issues but he is the best ever to me forget Shaq
Posted by: freddie at February 9, 2005 12:23 AMhello there...i agree with freddie
Posted by: sheba at August 30, 2005 07:14 PMJoe,
People who look up to Kobe Bryant look up to him because of his ATHLETIC ABILITY, just as they look up to Francis of Assisi because of his moral values. I think it's fine for a kid to look up to Kobe because they aren't thinking about the money, they are thinking about sports and being the best they can be. It doesn't matter to them how much money he has, as long as he's the best at what he does, and as long as they can be just as good.
I think that both Kobe AND Francis can be a child's role model, one for athletics and one for religion and morality.
Posted by: David at December 31, 2005 07:49 PMYes David, and they look up to 50 Cent for his lyrical ability and excellent sense of meter.
You're probably right in some cases... well, one or two anyway. But any marketing man or woman worth their salt will tell that ability is just part of a package - a package that includes wealth; success; sex appeal.
The incarnation is history's ultimate act of humility and we should aim to imitate it in every aspect of our lives. When's the last time you heard a self-effacing professional athlete?
"I think that both Kobe AND Francis can be a child's role model, one for athletics and one for religion and morality."
The Christian life cannot be compartmentalised - the object of faith is to inform EVERYTHING we do at ALL TIMES.
Posted by: fidens at January 1, 2006 05:58 AMFidens,
Yes, You are right. Kobe has made some mistakes, but I still think that he's trying. But still, I see what you mean.
I don't want to get too heavy into sports, but there are still some good examples out there! Magic Johnson was a class act, and Dekembe Mutombo went to Africa and opened up hospitals.
As for 50 Cent and his lyrical ability, well, hip hop isn't exactly skill. It's more of a talking, annoying, sinful piece of trash.
Posted by: David at January 20, 2006 09:04 PMKobe bryant is the best for me forgot Shaq Kobe,Kobe and Kobe.Yeah!!
Posted by: Ernesto at April 1, 2006 08:28 AMIt's been a long while since anybody has posted anything about this...
Kobe Bryant is actually a very faithful Catholic. He attends Mass every week in Newport Beach, when he is home for the Laker's homegames. Even when he is away for games, he will go to the local Catholic Church by himself. He screwed up big time with his adultery, but Christ is all about forgiveness and redemption.
Amen Martin
My patron Francis of Assisi, like Kobe, lived a wild youth that he later lamented.
My parish priest often reminds me that Christ hung with the sinners not the pharisees. Then he quotes the good samaritan and the prodigal son ("good son" being the pharisee in us).
People often look at why churches split as political ie Conservative vs Liberal, Traditional vs Social Justice... I think they split because of judgement by those Pharisees that won't forgive the Samaritans for not being Pharisees. They just aren't perfect enough.
Lets forgive Kobe (Christ died for him) and remember there is a sinner in all of us.
In Love
when we were one
Posted by: when we were one at April 4, 2007 02:41 PMWWWO,
Speaking as someone who comes from the Conservative camp, it does seem that both Conservatives and Traditionals generally seem more prone to becoming Pharisaical (long list of rules and prohibitions) than the Liberals and Social Justice people. Though that bunch does seem prone to going the way of the Sadducee (explicitly denying fundamental doctrines like the Resurrection). The one thing the Pharisees and Sadducees could unite on was in their hatred of the Lord Jesus.
CS Lewis notes that the sins of the the prostitutes and tax collectors were obvious but the sins of the Pharisees were not. The prostitutes and tax collectors knew they needed help but the Pharisees did not. And so the Lord had his harshest words for them.
This blindness for the "conservative" side of sin persists to this day. Few would mistake Hugh Heffner (founder and owner of Playboy) for being a holy man. His parents were strict Puritans who refused to hug him (some evidence suggests that children who receive insufficient love and affection are more prone to sexual sin). Though how many of us would see anything less than upright in his upbringing?
The sins of licentiousness in the sexual revolution are obvious. Likewise, the excesses that followed after the Second Vatican Council are also obvious. But how obvious are the deficiencies of the generation which raised them?
To this day, "good Catholics" insist that everything was fine before the Second Vatican Council and before the sexual revolution.
Thanks be to Pope John Paul II who pointed out that Angelism (which seeks to repress and discard sexual urges) and Animalism (which seeks to indulge in sexual urges) really stem from the same problem or divorcing the body (in particular sexuality) from the soul (in particular morality).
Posted by: Burnt Marshwiggle at April 4, 2007 11:49 PM
