In Lin Manuel Miranda's musical
Hamilton, Washington confronts Hamilton's desire to die for his country, telling the zealot "Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder." I have often pondered Jesus's words as recorded in John's gospel "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) Those words are beautiful to me, seeming to exemplify the pinnacle of selflessness. However, I've always associated them with death, thinking that laying down one's life meant the end of that life, that the stilled or spilt blood had some magic power to change a dark reality into a light one. That still may be true, but I'm beginning to understand laying down one's life is actually a painful and often drawn-out process. It does, indeed, change things for the better, but it isn't over in an instant, and those who undertake this form of self-sacrifice end up laying down their lives over and over again.
Wisdom also dictates that self-sacrifice be balanced with a measure of self-care. If the race run is to be a marathon, it does no good to expend all one's strength and other resources before reaching the finish line.
Living is most certainly a hard thing. I dare say dying slowly is harder...but it just may be worth the while.
