Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 206 ｜ Kobe's Death & the Sovereignty of God

00:00:00.000 Hey guys, welcome to Relatable. I hope everyone is having a wonderful week.

00:00:04.940 So today we are going to talk about Kobe Bryant and some lessons we as Christians can draw from

00:00:11.620 that and some analysis I have on the coverage surrounding this tragic event. We're going to

00:00:18.220 ask the question, why do we care so much when someone that we don't know who is famous dies?

00:00:24.880 Yes. And don't guess my answer on that because you don't know. I'm going to dig into that and we're

00:00:32.520 going to look at what scripture has to say about all of this. I will try to also get into a little

00:00:38.120 update on the election, on the primaries. And then I did want to get into what I wanted to talk about

00:00:45.260 on Monday, leftism against the family and what that kind of looks like. I'm also going to answer

00:00:51.240 some of the questions that you guys sent me on Instagram. So I want to get into all of that.

00:00:56.540 We'll see how much time we have. I have a lot to say about the Kobe Bryant thing. Okay. Now we are

00:01:02.560 going to get into today's episode. So Kobe Bryant, you guys know by now this happened on Sunday. So

00:01:08.760 you've probably heard a lot of news coverage on it. I hope not to repeat more of what you've already

00:01:14.700 heard, but just in case you haven't gotten a recap on it, I will tell you a few of the details.

00:01:19.400 Kobe Bryant died tragically in a helicopter crash on Sunday. His 13 year old daughter,

00:01:24.720 Gianna was with him along with seven other people, other parents and their children. They

00:01:30.220 were all headed to their kids' basketball game. Apparently the pilot of the helicopter,

00:01:35.660 he had a lot of flying experience, a lot of hours under his belt, but he was just unable to navigate

00:01:41.360 the fog, which was really thick that day. He was trying to fly under it, but something went wrong.

00:01:47.760 We obviously don't know all the details. We'll never know exactly what happened. I mean,

00:01:52.620 I cannot imagine. You can't help but thinking about this, but I really can't fathom those few

00:01:58.140 seconds that they felt, if there were those few seconds that felt absolutely helpless when they

00:02:03.540 realized that something was wrong. It's just too much for us to think about. It's probably not

00:02:08.920 super productive for us to think about because we can't control it. There's nothing that we can do to

00:02:13.440 change it, and if we were in that situation, there would be nothing that we could do to control it

00:02:17.660 then either. Kobe and his wife, Vanessa, were married in 2001, so they've been married for a

00:02:23.660 long time. They have three other daughters, one of whom was born just this summer, so about seven or

00:02:30.660 so months old. It's absolutely devastating. If you watch the videos that have been circulating on

00:02:36.440 social media that are kind of in tribute to Kobe Bryant, what it seems like, at least through these

00:02:42.020 videos and what other people are saying about him, is that he loved his family. He loved being a dad.

00:02:48.120 He loved his girls. He started playing in the NBA at 18. He was obviously one of the winningest

00:02:54.840 basketball players to ever exist. He, of course, I'm guessing, will be inducted into the Basketball

00:03:01.180 Hall of Fame. From what we read through reports, he has grown up a lot during the past 20 years of his

00:03:07.060 life, which is to be expected and to be hoped for, for not just someone like him, but for all of us.

00:03:12.780 He has left a legacy, not just of basketball, but also of family. I want to play one clip from

00:03:20.980 ESPN, from Ellie. I don't know if it's Ellie or Elle. Elle Duncan, describing her interaction with Kobe

00:03:28.840 Bryant from a couple years ago.

00:03:31.160 When it came to sports, he said that his oldest daughter was an accomplished volleyball player

00:03:34.920 and that the youngest was a toddler, so TBD. But that middle one, he said, that middle one was a

00:03:40.940 monster. She's a beast. She's better than I was at her age. She's got it. That middle one, of course,

00:03:47.360 was Gigi. When I reflect on this tragedy and that half an hour that I spent with Kobe Bryant two years

00:03:52.440 ago, I suppose that the only small source of comfort for me is knowing that he died doing what he loved

00:03:57.820 the most, being a dad, being a girl dad. Now, there are a few points that I want to make from

00:04:05.540 all of this. One is the question of why we mourn so deeply and so widely, a person that we don't know,

00:04:12.680 as if their life is any more important than anyone else's. So why was I someone who does not follow

00:04:19.600 basketball? I've never followed basketball. I've never really thought about Kobe Bryant. I mean,

00:04:24.800 the seconds that he has occupied my brain, probably total like 15 throughout my life.

00:04:30.380 Why was I so shocked and disturbed when my husband walked into our room and said and told me that Kobe

00:04:35.960 Bryant died in a helicopter crash? Like, why does that still feel so sad to me? Why does that feel

00:04:41.340 so heavy to me? Why do I feel like it's not real? Why does it feel so surreal to someone like me,

00:04:47.160 someone who doesn't really care about this sport, certainly doesn't idolize Kobe Bryant?

00:04:51.840 Why does it matter to me and matter to people like you so much? I don't know the full answer

00:04:59.160 to that question. But in thinking about this, I think that we subconsciously immortalize cultural

00:05:07.280 icons in our minds. We place them as fixtures in walls in our minds. And we may never even pay

00:05:15.780 attention to that fixture that we have on our wall. But when it's taken down, when it's not there,

00:05:19.980 it leaves a space that we begin to notice. And we didn't even realize that we put it up.

00:05:24.920 But now we kind of have this void and we didn't even know anything was filling it before. And

00:05:30.060 that's kind of what it feels like to me. I think it also reminds us of our own mortality. If we've

00:05:36.340 immortalized this cultural icon, when they do die, it's a little bit jarring. When someone as strong,

00:05:42.660 as powerful, as rich, as Kobe Bryant dies, we realize that death is imminent for all of us.

00:05:49.120 He had the best kind of helicopter out there. From what I read, I don't know a lot about helicopters.

00:05:54.920 I also have no desire to ride in a helicopter. But from what I've heard, this was the best kind

00:06:00.940 of helicopter that money could buy. He had one of the most experienced pilots out there. This was a

00:06:07.120 routine flight on a normal, albeit foggy day, but a pretty normal day. And something went wrong.

00:06:14.080 And now he's gone. And his 13-year-old daughter is gone. He was also young. And I think that's

00:06:20.320 another reason why it's hard for us to take in. He was only 41 years old. He had just retired.

00:06:26.320 And in a lot of ways, it just started a whole new part of his life, maybe even a more meaningful part

00:06:32.020 of his life. We're reminded in that, that death is not fair. It doesn't make sense. We look for some

00:06:38.780 kind of meaning to it or something to make it feel less blunt, less cruel, but we can't. Death has

00:06:46.300 existed as long as humanity has existed. And yet, we're just not used to it. We can't become

00:06:52.740 comfortable with it. We're looking for something to redeem it. But it rattles us. It confuses us.

00:06:58.700 It haunts us. So when someone young and influential that we have immortalized,

00:07:04.060 that we have placed as a fixture on the wall of our mind suddenly and unexpectedly dies,

00:07:10.020 we are forced to face the uncomfortable reality of mortality, not just for the people that we look

00:07:16.740 up to, not just for the people that we assume are going to live long, influential, and healthy lives,

00:07:22.940 but also for ourselves. James 4, 14 says,

00:07:26.680 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears

00:07:32.540 for a little time and then vanishes. So you, me, Kobe Bryant, we are blips on the span of eternity.

00:07:40.220 Our lives are here today, gone tomorrow. We are small specks on the timeline of history,

00:07:44.900 but we are not insignificant. Our existence isn't arbitrary. God placed each of us when and where he

00:07:53.100 did on purpose, specifically. Sometimes we joke, especially, I would say, us conservatives,

00:07:59.260 we're like, oh, we're born in the wrong time. We should have been born 50 years ago, or we should

00:08:03.680 have been born 100 years ago when America was better, when America was in its prime, when patriotism

00:08:09.020 mattered, when Christianity was more mainstream. We kind of joke about all of this stuff, or sometimes we feel

00:08:14.020 unprepared for the future. We don't want to confront the changes happening to our country, or we feel

00:08:19.640 unequipped. But God has placed, you and I, has placed all of us when and where he did with intention.

00:08:26.600 So not accidentally, not arbitrarily, purposely. God is sovereign over our lives. Even when we look at

00:08:33.860 a death like Kobe Bryant's, and it seems premature, it seems like we've been robbed of something. The

00:08:39.200 reality is, in light of God's sovereignty, we haven't. Jesus asks this rhetorical question,

00:08:45.540 which I assume most of you know, in Matthew 6, 27, and which of you, by being anxious,

00:08:52.380 can add a single hour to his span of life? That question always punches me in the gut,

00:08:58.880 because I'll be honest, I am a pretty anxious person. Naturally, I can lay in bed at night and just

00:09:06.940 come up with things that I should be worried about that really aren't worth my worry, but it's almost

00:09:12.880 like my mind is addicted to worrying about something or trying to control something. And if I don't have

00:09:18.700 something to worry about, I will conjure up something to worry about. Like, that's how naturally sinful

00:09:23.640 and naturally in need or in want of control all of us are. And when Jesus asks this question,

00:09:30.900 it gets me right in my core, because it's like he's asking it to me and everyone like me.

00:09:35.840 Who of you, by worrying, who of you, by being anxious, can add one hour, 60 minutes? And this

00:09:42.620 is really just a figure of speech. So even one second to your life, is worrying going to add

00:09:47.420 one second to your life? And I would even add on to that. Can any of you, by worrying, add an hour

00:09:52.720 to your kid's life, to your spouse's life, to the people that you care about? Can it add to their life?

00:09:59.040 And of course, the answer that Jesus is getting at is no. The rest of the chapter in Matthew 6,

00:10:06.300 Jesus tells us, stop worrying. Stop worrying about your provision. If you can't even add a single hour

00:10:12.380 to your life, you don't need to worry about anything. So stop worrying about your clothes.

00:10:16.280 Stop worrying about what's going to happen to you. He says, does God not provide for the birds?

00:10:21.960 Doesn't he care for flowers? Doesn't he care for grass? And if he cares for these,

00:10:26.720 don't you think he'll give you what you need? His own children, human beings that are made in his

00:10:31.620 image, children that he has called to himself, reconciled to himself through Christ, if not even

00:10:38.100 a sparrow, falls out of the sky apart from the Father's will, this chapter says. Do you think

00:10:43.420 anything could befall you that is not in his control? And what are we to do with this knowledge

00:10:49.820 of God's total, absolute sovereignty? Jesus tells us in the same chapter, seek first his

00:10:56.520 kingdom and his righteousness and all these things. Everything God knows that you need will

00:11:02.360 be added to you. That doesn't mean that we're always going to get the health and the wealth and

00:11:07.340 the ease and the luxury that we are looking for. It means that whatever provision that God has

00:11:13.820 determined we need, he will provide it for us. And we don't need to worry about it because there is

00:11:19.040 absolutely nothing our anxiety can do. This chapter, Matthew 6, by the way, flies in the face of the

00:11:27.200 whole self-care movement, which says that you are solely responsible for meeting all your needs and

00:11:33.340 caring for yourself in order to be rejuvenated, in order to be effective, in order to be a good mom,

00:11:38.540 in order to be a good person. It gives us something better. Jesus gives us something better in this

00:11:44.460 chapter that God cares for you, that you are not the shepherd of your soul. You are not the shepherd

00:11:50.600 of your needs or the giver of your needs. God is the same God who cares for the birds, who cares for

00:11:56.460 the lilies of the field. He cares for you and he cares for you a lot more because you are in Christ,

00:12:02.200 his child. In Job 38 and 39, these are some of the most stunning chapters in the Bible. And I want to

00:12:11.240 say they're my favorite, but I almost don't because I would be Job. I would be the person

00:12:19.800 questioning God and being like, what have I done to deserve this? The answer is a lot,

00:12:24.980 but questioning God's will. And God is speaking to Job in the same way that he would speak to us

00:12:32.180 if we are questioning his will. And here is part of what he says in chapters 38 and 39. This is the

00:12:38.660 Lord answering Job. And I'll just read some of the verses. They are long chapters and I've talked

00:12:45.320 about them on this podcast before. I encourage you to read the book of Job, but to read these two

00:12:49.660 chapters and to see how God responds when we question whether he really is powerful, whether

00:12:56.560 he really does know what he's doing when we question his sovereignty. Here are some of the things

00:13:03.260 that he asks rhetorically to Job. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me

00:13:09.540 if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know. Or who stretched

00:13:14.300 the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars

00:13:19.480 sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst

00:13:25.000 out from the womb? When I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band and prescribed

00:13:29.920 limits for it or set bars and doors and said, thus far you shall come and no farther. And here shall

00:13:36.160 your proud waves be stayed. Have you entered into the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of

00:13:41.320 the deep? Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

00:13:47.180 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare if you know all this. Do you know when the

00:13:52.980 mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the does? Do you number the months that they

00:13:58.460 fulfill? And do you know the time when they give birth? Is it by your understanding that the hawk

00:14:03.620 soars and spreads his wings toward the south? Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes

00:14:09.060 his nest on high? This is the God who cares for us. This is the God who has reconciled us to himself

00:14:15.580 through Christ. This is the God who promises to meet our needs. Who, as Psalm 23 says, is our shepherd.

00:14:21.400 He leads us beside still waters. He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. Surely goodness

00:14:26.960 and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives, this chapter says, and we shall dwell in the house

00:14:31.160 of the Lord forever. So even when we look at a tragedy like Kobe's, which in many ways serves as

00:14:37.560 a reminder of everyone's mortality, we have peace, trusting that the God that we serve is totally

00:14:44.680 sovereign, that he cares for us completely, and that we have a purpose while we are here on earth.

00:14:51.220 It's not arbitrary. It's not accidental. It is to seek his kingdom and his righteousness,

00:14:57.040 knowing that all of these things, everything that God determines that we need will be added

00:15:01.080 unto us. Here is how 1 Peter 5, 6 through 11 puts it. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty

00:15:07.860 hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him because he

00:15:13.800 cares for you. Be sober-minded. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion,

00:15:20.200 seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are

00:15:26.300 being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little

00:15:30.900 while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore,

00:15:37.760 confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

00:15:43.320 One thing I love about God, there are a lot of things, obviously, I love about God,

00:15:48.800 but one thing I love about God, and I've been thinking about that this week, while he is eternal,

00:15:54.580 he's suspended in the eternal now, so he's not limited at all by time. While he is eternal

00:15:59.400 and commands us to have an eternal perspective, so to think of ourselves as citizens of heaven,

00:16:05.580 not citizens of this world, he does care about the here and now. He cares about our physical needs.

00:16:12.660 He cares about our earthly lives. Sometimes we create this false dichotomy in our heads between

00:16:17.980 the spirit world and the physical world, and we act like God has called us to not care about the

00:16:23.760 physical world at all. Well, that's not true. The Bible is very concerned about the physical world.

00:16:28.420 God is very concerned about our physical needs. He's very concerned about our earthly lives.

00:16:33.040 He doesn't dismiss our worries by saying, oh, they don't matter. Just wait till you are where I am.

00:16:38.320 He doesn't dismiss them at all. He doesn't scoff at us as immature or naive or say, oh, just wait until

00:16:44.160 your next stage of life, until you're really busy, which is what we do sometimes when we look at other

00:16:48.960 people. So, for example, if you're a mom and you hear someone who is not a mom say, oh, I'm so tired,

00:16:54.960 I'm so stressed, what do we do? Well, I hope I don't do this, but what do a lot of times,

00:17:01.060 what's our propensity say? Oh, you don't even know what stress is. You don't even know what tired is

00:17:05.600 until you have kids, or you don't even know what tired is if you just have one kid. Wait till you have

00:17:09.080 seven kids or something like that. Well, God has every right to do that to us, but that's not what

00:17:14.400 the Bible says that he does with our concerns. Now, are some concerns valid and some concerns not?

00:17:19.560 Yes, absolutely, but that's not what God does when we have anxieties. He doesn't say, hey,

00:17:24.980 they don't matter. He says, give them to me. These worries are now mine. I will take them on. Those

00:17:31.060 anxieties that you have, those heavy burdens that you're carrying, I will carry them for you. I will take

00:17:35.860 them. I will bear that weight, so you don't have to. Let me replace them with my burden, Jesus says,

00:17:41.920 which is light, and my yoke, which is easy. You know, when kids, just to keep going on this example,

00:17:48.380 you know when kids or when teenagers care about things that we adults know ultimately won't

00:17:52.900 matter? Like, I think back to when I was a teenager and I went through like a breakup when I was 15 years

00:17:58.740 old and I thought it was going to be the end of the world. Like, I'm never going to get married because

00:18:02.500 when do you find your future husband, if not at 15 years old in high school? But I remember caring

00:18:07.060 so much when I got broken up with when I was like 15 or 16 years old. And I remember coming

00:18:11.660 home to my mom and I can actually tear up talking about this, not the breakup, but the situation that

00:18:17.640 I'm about to explain. I remember coming home and talking to my mom about it and her caring so much

00:18:24.160 and her crying too, not because she thought it was, you know, the end of my dating career,

00:18:29.520 the end of my life or the biggest tragedy that would ever befall me, but because she was

00:18:34.480 empathetic, because she cared about what I cared about, because she cared about my pain. And so in a

00:18:40.480 much bigger way, in a much deeper way, in a much more significant way, God also looks at our weakness

00:18:47.000 and looks at our anxieties and looks at the things that we care about. And he offers us sympathy.

00:18:52.760 He offers us compassion. He says, give me your anxieties. Give me your burdens. He doesn't just

00:18:57.380 write them off or scoff at them or make fun of them. He says, I understand that you have anxieties

00:19:02.700 and all the things that you really need, I'm going to provide for you. He pays attention to us. He

00:19:08.280 sees us. We serve a sovereign and compassionate God. We serve a God who took on human flesh and died

00:19:15.500 to death. He didn't deserve to die, in part to be able to sympathize with our weaknesses. Hebrews 4.15

00:19:22.060 says, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in

00:19:27.740 every respect has been tempted as we are and yet is without sin. So praise God. That's just one of

00:19:34.820 those verses that you read, and it just hits you how gracious and how good and how merciful God is to

00:19:40.800 us. But Jesus didn't just come so that he could sympathize with our fleshly weaknesses. He came

00:19:46.340 for God's glory to rescue us from death through his resurrection. There is something in us that

00:19:54.980 naturally, I think, seeks some kind of redemption and stories of death. So you'll see on Twitter or

00:20:01.260 you'll hear when people are talking about Kobe's death, at least, like at least they lived a full

00:20:07.100 life. At least they did a lot of things. At least they died doing what they loved it. At least.

00:20:11.480 But really, and I'm not speaking about Kobe specifically, I'm just talking about unbelievers. 1.00

00:20:16.760 I don't know whether or not Kobe Bryant was a Christian. But there is really no at least when it 1.00

00:20:23.100 comes to death for the unbeliever. For the unbeliever, there is no redemptive piece of the death story to 0.99

00:20:31.460 be found. And yet for the Christian, we rejoice that we have been redeemed from death through the

00:20:36.780 resurrection of Jesus Christ. When the world is looking for something to make death feel

00:20:41.480 more comfortable, it is their soul yearning for the risen Jesus. And that is the answer we

00:20:47.700 Christians present them. Part of what I try to do, Unrelatable, is to talk about the things that you 0.99

00:20:54.760 guys are thinking about and answer the questions or at least dig into the questions that you guys have.

00:21:00.300 And some of you might be wondering about Kobe Bryant's muddled history. There was a rape

00:21:06.540 allegation against him many years ago that ended in a settlement. And what I want to talk about on that

00:21:14.020 is whether or not, and I guess it's kind of weird because I am bringing it up, but like I said,

00:21:20.560 I'm bringing up the fact that it was brought up. And I'm questioning whether or not we should bring

00:21:26.280 up these moments in the wake of someone's death. Again, realizing that I am doing it. But I wouldn't,

00:21:33.140 I don't think I, well, okay, let me just get into this. So there was a reporter for the Washington

00:21:38.840 Post that literally within hours of hearing about his death, tweeted a reminder that he had a rape

00:21:48.540 allegation against him and how it ended. And then that kind of started this cascade of other women 1.00

00:21:55.380 also tweeting, hey, remember, this guy is a rapist. And of course, these people were dragged through the

00:22:02.020 mud on Twitter for the most part saying, you know, why would you bring this up at this time? This is

00:22:09.140 not who he is. It was an allegation. It wasn't proven. All of that stuff. So my question is whether

00:22:16.540 or not we should be talking about that kind of thing in the wake of someone's death. And I try to

00:22:22.920 look at it from both sides. On the one hand, if I were the victim of this case, and again, we don't

00:22:29.660 know exactly what happened or even if it happened as the allegation went. But if I were a victim and

00:22:35.840 my attacker was being celebrated after his death, would it be very hard for me to see all those

00:22:42.920 accolades knowing that there is a side of him that most people are just ignoring and pushing to the

00:22:47.160 side? A big part of him, if true, that other people are pushing to the side? Yes, it would absolutely

00:22:52.800 be difficult. And I would probably be wondering as a victim, why the heck are people hailing him as a

00:22:57.340 hero? Why are they looking to him as some kind of role model? Don't they know what he did to them?

00:23:04.340 So on the one hand, I do understand why reporters would bring this up to say, hey, just a reminder,

00:23:10.940 this happened, or at least this allegedly happened. We need to remember the victim of this case. If I

00:23:16.380 were the victim of this case, yes, it would be very difficult for me to see this kind of thing going on.

00:23:22.280 On the other hand, if you are Kobe Bryant or if you are someone in his position or if you are a

00:23:30.800 family member of Kobe Bryant, if one of your loved ones dies and right after they die, someone reminds

00:23:36.880 you of their worst moment that happened several years ago that happened, I think it was decades ago

00:23:42.820 at this point, or even just a rumor about them. Because again, we don't know all the details and we

00:23:47.760 don't know exactly what's true. Like, how would you feel if someone brought up that one terrible

00:23:53.340 mistake that you made or a terrible allegation against you that almost ruined your life or

00:23:58.520 whatever it was? Do you think that that is the right moment to bring up the worst thing that you've

00:24:04.520 ever done? We've all done bad things, not that, but we've all done things that we regret. We've all

00:24:09.260 said things that we regret. And certainly we don't want in the seconds, in the wake of our death,

00:24:15.500 for someone to bring up our lowest moments or allegations against us that were, that represented

00:24:21.740 our lowest moments. Uh, no, I don't think that that is what we want. And I don't think it's

00:24:27.440 appropriate. There's a reason why, uh, at funerals, we don't talk about all of the terrible things

00:24:33.360 someone said or did. And maybe some of you are proponents of being more honest at funerals, but we

00:24:37.960 try to focus on the good that people did on the influence that they had, uh, their faith, if they had

00:24:44.300 of faith. And we try to respect, uh, the family members and the loved ones that are mourning this

00:24:49.360 person that for all of their flaws, this person was deeply loved, deeply needed, uh, in his family's

00:24:55.600 life. And so we try to respect that as much as possible. So in my opinion, it seemed a little

00:25:02.480 insensitive towards Vanessa, towards his daughters to bring up that kind of allegation, literally

00:25:08.920 hours within the death, especially since this was just one part of his life. Now, obvious, obviously,

00:25:17.200 if it really happened, that's a huge part of someone's life. And, um, I don't think it's,

00:25:22.860 I don't know. I think that we can disagree on whether or not it was right for someone to bring

00:25:27.820 that up immediately. Now, here's where I disagree with a lot of the people who were angry at the women

00:25:35.420 who tweeted about this in the wake of his death. Uh, do I think it was a, like, would I have done

00:25:42.240 it? No, I would not have done it. I think that it's, it's just too cruel, but, but I do not agree

00:25:50.480 with what happened to this Washington post reporter. So the woman who brought up, Hey, by the way, he's

00:25:56.480 an alleged rapist. She was actually suspended by the Washington post. And a lot of people are saying

00:26:03.200 serves her right. She shouldn't have brought it up. Now. I disagree with that. Like, I don't think

00:26:08.600 that she should be punished for it. She just brought up facts of the case. Like she wasn't,

00:26:13.520 it wasn't conjecture. She didn't make up some random conspiracy theory. Maybe it wasn't the best

00:26:19.560 timing in the world, but it was a fact what she was reporting was true. And it was her perspective on

00:26:25.860 it. And she felt the need to bring it up. I do not think that merited suspension. Uh, and for all of us

00:26:32.000 who believe that it's important to say what is true for all of us who believe in reporting facts,

00:26:39.180 I think it's a little bit troubling that she was suspended for doing that. Again, I disagree with

00:26:44.480 the timing. I don't think that she should have done it when she did and maybe how she did again,

00:26:49.940 that just seems cruel to the victim's families. It just doesn't seem right since he had done so much

00:26:56.080 in his life, but it was still true. That doesn't change the fact that she reported facts. And I

00:27:02.700 don't think that that is punishable. That's just my opinion on it. And I know I disagree with a lot

00:27:07.700 of people on that. Um, but I just don't think that that is something that is worth castigating

00:27:15.200 officially anyway. Of course people can on Twitter say that she was wrong for it, but for the Washington

00:27:20.500 Post is suspended for that, that just seems a little bit crazy, especially since the Washington

00:27:25.980 Post has glorified the deaths of terrorists, by the way, called, uh, the terrorist that was taken out

00:27:34.180 by our military recently and austere scholar. So they have botched plenty of obituaries with

00:27:41.920 factless headlines. And so it also seems a little bit hypocritical to suspend this person who brought up

00:27:49.120 this one dark part of Kobe Bryant's life. So I tried to see that situation from both sides and

00:27:56.860 tried to have empathy for both sides. Ultimately, yes, it is a true part and an important part of his

00:28:02.880 story. I just wouldn't have brought it up how and when she did. So that's my take on that.

00:28:08.580 As far as the election and impeachment goes, I know we're kind of shifting into something kind of

00:28:15.080 starkly, but that's because we're wrapping up the end of the episode. I know I said,

00:28:18.980 I might talk about that, but we're going to talk about that on Friday. I have a special guest that's

00:28:22.520 going to break that all down for us who will give her, uh, her expert insight into, uh, all of that.

00:28:29.120 But really, I just wanted to focus on this very poignant moment, uh, in our lives and whether we

00:28:36.060 understand why or not, it is significant to us. No, in the long run, or really at all, is his death

00:28:42.420 any more significant than any other father's death? No, it's absolutely not. Or any more, uh,

00:28:48.260 significant than any other individual's death? Death? No. Uh, from dust we came to dust we go.

00:28:55.300 And it is all the same. We are all image bearers of God, but there is a cultural significance to it.

00:29:00.260 And like I said, um, it kind of reverberates our own fears and our own concerns about mortality.

00:29:06.600 And there's a lesson to be drawn from that, especially from us, uh, for us as Christians.

00:29:11.280 Okay. I'm going to answer some of the questions that you guys sent me on Instagram. Okay. One

00:29:17.800 question that someone had, well, one question that someone had was on yoga and mindfulness. And I

00:29:22.700 answered that last, well, actually I talked about it on Monday. So you can listen to that episode if

00:29:28.760 you want to know that. Someone else asked me though, if I think it's biblical for women to get cause, 0.84

00:29:33.920 or I guess men too, to get cosmetic surgery. And I am assuming that also means Botox. Now this is a

00:29:42.120 little bit touchy because I know there are people that listen to this podcast that, uh, have gotten

00:29:46.420 Botox. I have a friend who recently got Botox. And I remember when I worked for someone who, uh,

00:29:53.100 was only 28, she got Botox regularly. And she said she started when she was 26. And so I know a lot

00:29:59.200 of people who have gotten Botox, and I'm sure in my life, I will know more and more, uh, in this

00:30:03.800 industry, there are certainly people who get Botox, get all kinds of surgery, fillers in your lips.

00:30:08.960 That's really popular. Just full disclosure. I have never done any of those things, uh, whether or not

00:30:16.380 it is biblical. So the Bible talks about, uh, the honor and having gray hair, the honor in becoming

00:30:26.220 old, the honor in having, uh, children and having generations that you leave as your legacy,

00:30:33.600 hard work as your legacy. And so what we know is that God adding years to our life is a blessing.

00:30:40.820 The fact that we reached 28, 30, 40, 50, 60 years old is an immense blessing from the Lord that he has

00:30:47.920 allowed us to, uh, enjoy the, the life that he has given us, that he has allowed us to build earthly

00:30:57.140 legacies that of course don't compare at all to the heavenly glory that we Christians will experience

00:31:02.960 one day. But every year that God gives us is a blessing that we should be thankful for. It is a

00:31:09.080 very worldly mentality to dread age 30 or to dread age 40. Now there is of course something to

00:31:17.460 the concern that maybe we haven't, uh, been as obedient in our lives to God as we would like to

00:31:25.760 be. Maybe we haven't been as purposeful or as intentional as we would like to in our lives. Maybe

00:31:32.420 we look back and we see apathy and we see laziness. And so we feel regret and shame over that. Or maybe

00:31:39.140 we see sins that we have committed in our lives and we say, Oh my gosh, I'm 30 years old or I'm 40

00:31:44.440 years old. And I've done all of these things that I regret, or I haven't done enough. And, um, all of,

00:31:49.360 and all of that. And so of course there's something to that aspect of aging, but as far as, um,

00:31:55.900 not wanting to age or not liking aging, that is a worldly mentality. And I know easy for me to say,

00:32:04.560 as I'm only 27 years old, and I don't want this to sound like I'm condemning everyone who has ever

00:32:10.240 gotten Botox, but I do think for all of us, and I mean, it's the same thing by the way, uh, using

00:32:16.140 night creams and I'm not saying that's ungodly, but we all have the same desire to, uh, yes,

00:32:21.740 we're going to age, but we don't want to look like we've aged in the same way that when we have a baby,

00:32:26.780 we want to bounce back. We want to be able to button up our pre-baby pants immediately after we

00:32:31.780 have a child. We don't want any physical effects of having children to show at all. We want to be able

00:32:37.900 to, uh, look perfect immediately after we deliver our child. And that's just not the case in the same

00:32:44.620 way that we eventually are going to age and we are eventually going to show the effects of age.

00:32:50.560 It just depends on how slowly or how fast you are going to do it. Um, and I think we have to assess

00:32:57.020 our hearts and ask ourselves why, why do we feel like we want to lessen the effects of aging? Is it

00:33:04.240 because we're embarrassed? Well, that would be ungodly because aging is a blessing. Is it because

00:33:09.140 we are trying to match worldly standards? Uh, well, that would be ungodly because we are not called

00:33:14.560 to worldly standards. Is it because we're afraid of what people think? Well, the Bible tells us that

00:33:19.160 we are to, uh, we are to care what God thinks, not what other people think. And the Bible also says

00:33:26.100 that, uh, charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

00:33:32.160 And so not just about Botox or cosmetic surgery, but if we're focusing too much on anything, when

00:33:38.140 it comes to our external appearance, appearance, we probably need to take stock of where our heart

00:33:43.740 is and all of that. And why, why we are doing the things that we do. I mean, I get highlights. I wear

00:33:48.780 makeup. I, you know, use anti-aging, uh, face cream. So there's certainly room for me to ask these

00:33:57.320 questions too. Uh, I don't think those of us who haven't had any cosmetic work done can look down

00:34:02.560 at those who have, if we are also using our own anti-aging measures that might not be surgical

00:34:09.840 or might not be invasive. We all have to take stock of where our priorities are, why we do the things we

00:34:15.940 do. And if our mentality and if our priorities are too superficial, we need to ask God to change our

00:34:21.600 hearts about that. And for him to search us and to see if there'd be any, uh, you know, selfish

00:34:29.260 motives or ambitions in any of us. So that's my thought on that. There are a lot of other questions

00:34:33.740 that I could answer. Thank you to those of you who submitted it. Uh, for those of you who don't

00:34:38.560 subscribe to YouTube, please take the time to do that. That would mean a lot to me. Uh, if you have

00:34:42.900 friends that aren't on social media or don't listen to podcasts, but watch YouTube videos, please

00:34:47.040 share this episode or other episodes that you think are good. It's pretty easy to scroll through

00:34:51.640 and see what subjects I've covered on YouTube. So it's Allie Bestucki is my YouTube channel.

00:34:57.760 And that's it for today. I will be back here on Friday with an interview.

Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - January 29, 2020

Ep 206 ｜ Kobe's Death & the Sovereignty of God

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