Holy Leadership, Batman

My all-time favorite TV show is the Batman series from the mid-1960s.  You know, the one starring Adam West and Burt Ward.  I can watch that show anytime, even if it is an episode I’ve seen dozens of times…and for the record, I’ve seen every one of them dozens of times.  I am not sure why I like the show so much, for it is quite ridiculous.  I mean, how can you not tell by the voice that Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person?  And by putting on a black eye mask, Dick Grayson suddenly looks nothing like Robin?  Then there is Batman’s utility belt – it has everything a crime fighter could ever want or need.  Need to scale a 20-story building.  No problem, the Bat utility belt has rope and a grappling hook.  Need to get that pesky shark off your leg?  No worries, grab the can of shark repellant from the trusty Bat utility belt.  Got a headache?  There’s a Bat Pill for that.  Need to protect yourself from being hypnotized by a siren?  There’s a Bat Pill for that.  Need to counteract a deadly concoction that was slipped into your drink seemingly without your knowledge?  There’s a Bat Pill for that.  There’s a Bat Pill for literally everything under the sun.  And they are all inside the Bat utility belt.

Then there are the villains.  The Joker, Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman, Egghead, Mr. Freeze, and many, many more.  They are self-described brilliant minds.  Yet none of them could figure out how to permanently get rid of the dynamic duo.  The best part of each episode occurred when the “guest villain” of that week, captured Batman and Robin, and then put them into an absurd “death trap”.  And instead of waiting around for a few minutes to see the two breathe their last, they leave in a hurry so that they can carry out their dastardly crime.  I remember one particular episode where Batman and Robin were tied to racks with a giant magnifying glass mounted over each of them.  Batman remembered that a solar eclipse was going to occur in just moments, so he tells Robin to angle the lens 14 degrees so that the sun will burn the wrist ties.  It had to be precisely 14 degrees.  One degree off and it would have been lights out for the crime fighters.  I’m chuckling as I write this because of how silly it sounds.

But I loved it because, in spite of all the corniness, Batman represented all that was good in man.  He would never break any law, even chastising Robin at times when the Boy Wonder suggested doing otherwise.  (There is one episode where Batman parks the Batmobile in front of a parking meter.  Batman pulls a coin out of…you guessed it, the Bat utility belt…and puts it in the meter.  Robin tells Batman that no policeman is going to ticket the Batmobile, but Batman responsibly instructs Robin that it is the right thing to do, and that parking meter money is used to pay for and maintain the roads.)  

Batman always seemed to want to see the best in everyone, including the villains he captured and recaptured (and recaptured) week after week.  Perhaps that is why I am so drawn to this version of Batman, and perhaps you are too.  You see, we should want to see the best in people.  We should want to see people succeed and come out on top.  If you are interested in becoming a better leader, at work, and at home, then this has to become a priority.  If you want to be in the business of helping others, you have to start by seeing the best in others.  The challenging thing is this…those you are trying to help will sometimes put you in a bad position.  They probably won’t tie you to a rack and try to fry you with an oversized magnifying glass until you’re crispy like bacon, but they might abuse your kindness, your patience, and even your time.  It doesn’t matter.  Your job is to keep coming back, looking through the flaws of the individual, and seeing their best.

Batman, of course, is fiction.  But there is one person who ALWAYS sees the best in us.  He was, is, and will forever be, the greatest leader ever.  Jesus.  

He knows your voice no matter what persona you might try to hide behind. When you try to put on a black eye mask, He still recognizes you.  If you have a 20-story problem that you need to scale…He is there with you.  Need relief from mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual pain?  He’s got you, not with a pill, but with a reminder found in His Word that He is your help.  Caught in a trap where there seems to be no escape.  Trust me there is.  His name, when called on, will provide the way out.  And when you try to bend the rules a little, Jesus is right there to remind you that integrity is the best option.