"The Villain Is the Hero (of His Own Story)"

*** SPOILER ALERT ***

I just went to see "Joker" at my local theater.

It's not a movie for the kids by any stretch, but it is an engrossing character sketch of Arthur, the man who would become Batman's prime nemesis.

In this outing, Joaquin Phoenix portrays the Clown Prince of Crime.

Phoenix's Joker is plagued with mental illness regulated by meds.

When his meds are cut off due to cuts in city social services, his illness runs free, including a delusion that he is in a relationship with a single mom who lives in his building.

He also is told by his mother that her former employer, Thomas Wayne (Bruce's dad), is also his father.

Joaquin Phoenix

When he learns that his mother suffered from delusions, had been committed to a mental institution when he was young, and that he was adopted by her and has no kinship with the Wayne family, the illusion that is his life is shattered.

That night he enters the apartment of the single mother, who barely knows him and is shocked to see him.

When she asks what he is doing there, he mumbles, "I had a bad day."

There is no question that Arthur has had many bad days, a lifetime of them.

He is the product of abuse, poverty, and mental illness.

He would say, "My bad days justify my violent, murderous actions."

In his story, he is giving people what they deserve.

In his story, he is the hero who liberates the enslaved masses.

In the Dark Knight Trilogy we meet another version of the Joker, played by the late Heath Ledger.

This Joker arrives on screen fully-formed and offers multiple explanations for the scars that force his mouth into a gruesome grin.

Heath Ledger

When he is interrogated by Batman, he explains how society's moral code is just "a bad joke" that will be dropped "when the chips are down."

He then adds, "See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve."

In other words, "My violent, murderous actions are just a reflection of a society that is on the verge of chaos."

In his story, he is teaching people that "the only sensible way to live in this world is without rules."

In his story, he is the hero who enlightens the ignorant masses.

These tales illustrate a point about sin and evil. Sin and evil can delude us into believing that sinful and evil actions are anything but.

Our sinful hearts can find many and various ways to justify sinful actions.

"They deserved it."

"It's not gossip; it's the truth."

"God would want me to be happy."

That's because, as God Himself clearly declared after the flood, "The intention of man's heart is evil from his youth"(Genesis 8:21).

But even while making that declaration, the merciful God promises, "I will never again curse the ground because of man. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done."

You see, although our sinful hearts will contort and distort reality to portray us as the heroes, it's all a lie.

The truth, on the other hand, is that God provided the hero, the rescuer, the Savior.

He provided Jesus.

Trust in Jesus means that I can be honest about my sin, confess my sin to Him, and receive not false affirmations of my goodness but true forgiveness for my wrongs.

I can claim this truth, that Jesus is the hero of my story.