day no. 15,885: the hare has still more heart to run

I will even answer the mighty earl
That asked of Wessex men
Why they be meek and monkish folk,
And bow to the White Lord's broken yoke;
What sign have we save blood and smoke?
Here is my answer then.

That on you is fallen the shadow,
And not upon the Name;
That though we scatter and though we fly,
And you hang over us like the sky,
You are more tired of victory,
Than we are tired of shame.

That though you hunt the Christian man
Like a hare on the hill-side,
The hare has still more heart to run
Than you have heart to ride.

 That though all lances split on you,
 All swords be heaved in vain,
 We have more lust again to lose
 Than you to win again.
-- G.K. Chesterton, The Ballad of the White Horse

Victory is vanity apart from God. There is a weariness that comes with always winning. It is an accumulation without an appreciation. It is more surrounding you with less inside you. It is full barns, but empty hearts.

Christian disciples have more desire to lose their lives again than godless men have desire to save theirs.

The value of life is found from without and those who merely seek to save their own devalue living by flooding the market. Those who have something outside of themselves worth dying for live fuller lives and lay themselves down to a greater reward.

Matthew 10:39
He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it.

The worldly cannot enjoy winning.

They lose heart even as they gain their lives.

The godly cannot despise losing.

They take heart even as they lose their lives.