Why Good Paladins Make Terrific Leaders

I'm back. It's been a good, but long week at Scout Camp. The Staff was great. The scenery was phenomenal. The boys were friendly, and most of them were even sane, which was something of a surprise to me. It was a terrific experience, but I'm glad I'm back. Scout Camp takes a lot of energy, and there are some aspects of it that are less than terrific. Thank God for modern plumbing!

On June 13th, which was a week and a day ago, I predicted that Scout Camp would "help me grow, spiritually and as a leader," and boy did it! At Scout Camp, I didn't learn any scouting or survival skills that I didn't already know (though I did get some good practice in the practical use of knots I hardly ever use). What I did learn was why good Paladins make terrific leaders.

Paladins lead by example.

At Scout camp, there were man times when we had to choose between what we wanted to do and what we were supposed to do. Whenever a Staff member or other Scout leader gave the Scout Sign, signaling for silence, all conversations were to come to an abrupt stop, and full attention was to be given to the Scout leader or Staff member. Since I have spent the last few years of my live striving to develop greater moral discipline, and since I have a few years of maturity over most of the boys, I found cutting conversations short and focussing my attention less difficult than some of the boys did. When this happened, the other Scout leaders and I led by example. By giving the staff members our full attention (and occasionally giving our Scouts a little prodding) we succeeded in getting our boys to act we the appropriate level of maturity about as often as we tried. However, I'm am fairly certain that if we, the leaders, had been goofing off, the boys would have been goofing off, too.

Paladins are known for choosing the right and for encouraging others to do so as well. Just as I'm certain that some of our boys wouldn't have paid attention if we didn't, I'm sure that a Paladin's, or anyone's, call to repentance wouldn't have had much convincing power unless they were being righteous themselves.

Paladins uphold high standards, but understand that others don't have to.

That being said, sometimes boys will be boys. Even those these are Boy Scouts, legendary for their adherence to the list of moral principles known as the Scout Law, they are still Boy Scouts, and due to that fact, some allowances need to be given. They don't all have the level of maturity that can only come with age. In fact, very few of them do. While some behavior is inexcusable, even from teenagers, other faults, such as desires to both stay up and sleep in later than they should, must be forgiven.

In contrast, the leaders are responsible for not only getting up at the correct time themselves, but also helping their Scouts to go to bed and get up when they should as well. The leaders are supposed to remember all the rules, obey them constantly, and remind their troops to follow the rules as well. Since the boys looked to us for examples to follow, we were tasked to maintain the highest standards we could, even though our boys failed to do that from time to time.

Similarly, Paladins have sworn binding oaths to maintain high standards, but frequently travel with those who haven't. While they themselves must always be honest, true, and committed to the cause of good, strictly rejecting any evil thought or action and cautiously avoiding any questionable ones, they understand that not all of their associates are expected to be that strict. So, the best Paladins are forgiving of the faults and imperfections of their companions, even though they strive fiercely to remove those faults and imperfections from themselves.

Lastly, Paladins are charismatic.

At Scout Camp, I learned that if people like you, they're more likely to listen to you and respect you. Though it may or may not be true literally, it is figuratively true that you collect more flies with honey than with vinegar. If you want to get boys to follow your example and respect your authority, it helps if you can get them to like you. Many of the boys in our group liked me and their other Scout leaders, and they often behaved well when we asked them to.

In Dungeons and Dragons, Paladins typically have high Charisma scores, which chiefly affects their likability and their ability to influence others (and to lie, except that Paladins don't lie. I'm just saying that if a Paladin did lie, they'd probably be pretty good at it because of their high Charisma). At first, I didn't understand what Charisma had to do with being a Paladin. What possible relationship could there be between likable and being an unshakable champion of justice and righteousness? As it turns out, the connection is pretty strong. While some so-called champions of justice consider it just to answer minor infractions with severe retribution, Paladins seek to promote righteous not so much by force (though sometimes force is necessary), but rather by persuasion. It's better to convince someone to be more righteous by talking to them than by pointing a sword at their throat. That's why the best Paladins use force and the threat of force sparingly, and more often use their friendliness and persuasiveness to eradicate evil with their words. And, not coincidentally, those Paladins often get better results.

I've heard that Paladins often take positions of leadership, and I have been placed in such a position with my calling as a Scout Leader. It seems a strange coincidence that my calling places me into a position that's even more closely aligned with the fictional figures I've been attempting to emulate than I was already attempting to be. But perhaps it's not a coincidence at all. Perhaps this is a sign that God is not only okay with my desire to be like a Paladin, but that He wants me to be even more like a Paladin than I thought was necessary. Or perhaps God is simply working with the decision that I have already made. I've already decided that I want to be a Paladin, God knows that Paladins are supposedly good leaders, so perhaps He turned me into a leader knowing that I already had some motivation to be a good one.

What I know for certain is that right now, God wants me to be a leader to a small group of Boy Scouts that have named themselves the Valiant Knights. If being their leader helps me to be more like a Paladin, or if being more like a Paladin helps me be a better leader, either way I'm happy with that idea. I want to be both a good Paladin and a good leader, and if being either one of those things helps me to also be the other, all the better.