"I have to be who I am"

Almost 20 years ago (1992 to be exact) a new cartoon came out called “Batman: The Animated Series.”  It starred Kevin Conroy as Batman.  It was a big hit.

In one episode, the villain Selina Kyle - A.K.A. Catwoman - was contemplating whether she should return to crime or if she should stayed reformed.  Batman had previously captured her.  The judge was lenient, but then warned her not use her Catwoman guise to break the law.  Ultimately, she decided that she was going to break the law even if it meant going to jail.  Batman questioned her as to why, and Catwoman responded with this statement: “I have to be who I am.”

The reason that I start with that quote on my very first blog is because, as you may have seen from my bio, I am a Christian man.  I’m going to be writing from a Christian perspective.  I’m going to quote from the Bible and other Christian books.  No doubt, I’m going to say some things that you may completely disagree with me on.  But I have to be who I am.  I can’t soften my approach to things simply in an attempt to be more popular or politically correct.

For a while now, I’ve thought about starting a blog.  But I never did so, for several reasons.  The biggest reason is because I’m not used to writing and having the possibility of people criticizing me or attacking my beliefs.  I actually really never knew I had this fear until I began to seriously consider starting a blog.  But again, I have to be who I am.  I’m not going to put on a show and pretend to be someone that I’m not.  The truth is, I’m a Christian, and I’m going write like it.  If you don’t like what I have to say, that’s perfectly fine.  We can agree to disagree on issues.

The issue here is we shouldn’t be mean about it.  So let’s make a deal: the Bible says, “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12, NIV).  You’ve heard that before, no doubt.  It’s the Golden Rule.  Treat others the way you want to be treated.  I’m going to use that as a rule of thumb in this new blog.  I’m going to share my thoughts with all the kindness and grace I can muster.  My request is that you would treat me the same way.  Share your thoughts about my work with kindness and grace.  Treat me the way you would want me to treat you.  Fair enough?

In conclusion, I would like to thank several people for their encouragement to share my writing with others.  I want to thank Shirley, my mother Rose Mary, and Mrs. Nicks.  Your words meant a lot to me.

Kevin Bauer

(Romans 11:36)