Unstring the Bow
Dr. George Grant on celebration for battle-readiness
“Joy, which was the small publicity of the pagan, is the gigantic secret of the Christian.” G.K. Chesterton
There is a time for battle, for confrontation, and for engagement. But when the clash of arms has ceased, the dust has settled, and the crisis has passed, it is essential that we learn how to rest and relax. Marriage, family, and friends ground us, secure us, and preserve us so that we are strong when the day of battle comes again. We need to remember that, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)
At the end of the thirteenth century when English archers began to pioneer the powerful new military technology of the longbow, they discovered that the more elastic and flexible a bow remained, the more useful it would be when battle came. As a result, they developed a host of new maintenance techniques. They rubbed various combinations of waxes, resins, and tallows into the Yew staves and buffed the horn nocks with herbal pastes and salves. They wrapped the bows in oiled leather sheaves to seal out moisture and kept them in storage niches far from the drying effects of the hearthside. But they discovered that the very best precaution that a bowman could take for his weapon was simply to unstring the bow when it was not in use. To release the tension, relax the pressure, and relieve the strain allowed the bow to last longer, snap back faster, and set arrows to flight further.
The longbow proved to be a decisive factor in a host of pivotal battles in the Medieval Age: the battles of Stirling Bridge in 1297, of Bannockburn in 1314, of Halidon Hill in 1333, of Crécy in 1346, and perhaps most famously, of Agincourt in 1415. The effectiveness of the longbow literally changed the course of history. English archers carefully maintained their bows knowing that the fate of their lives and the destiny of their kingdom depended on it. A bow that was never unstrung would quickly lose its effectiveness. A bow that was never relaxed became useless as an offensive weapon.
The same principle applies to people. In order to be effective in our work, our calling, and our destiny, we need to be fresh, rested, and ready. We need to know how to release the tension, relax the pressure, and relieve the strain. We need to be able to blow off steam. We need to get our mind on other things—focus on something other than the looming crisis at hand. We need to refuel, refresh, and recreate. We need to laugh.
Unfortunately, we don’t do that sort of thing very well—especially in a time of crisis. Most of us are inclined to feel guilty for not constantly focusing on the grave problems besetting us. We tend to think that diligence should somehow supersede all else. And while there are certainly times when we must work longer and harder than normal—at some point we come to the end of our physical, mental, and spiritual endurance. At that point, if we don’t get rest, our performance will suffer. We won’t be ready when the battle rages once again.
We have to unstring the bow.
G.K. Chesterton once quipped, “Pessimism is not in being tired of evil but in being tired of good. Despair does not lie in being weary of suffering, but in being weary of joy. It is when for some reason or other good things in a society no longer work that the society begins to decline; when its food does not feed, when its cures do not cure, when its blessings refuse to bless.”
Chesterton was simply reminding us of the great Biblical imperative to find gladness and joy—even in the midst of this poor, fallen world in which we live and battle:
“Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” (Psalm 32:11)
“Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!” (Psalm 47:1)
“I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 3:18)
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)
Chesterton was a brilliant author and controversialist. He influenced many of the greatest writers of the twentieth century including C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Dorothy Sayers, Arthur Quiller-Couch, William Faulkner, and a host of others. But as remarkable as his writing and influences were perhaps his greatest gift was his ability to laugh.
It was obvious to everyone who knew him or who read him that Chesterton had an enormous capacity for joy—he took joy in the world around him; he took joy in food, in art, in children, in travel, in literature, in friendship, in marriage, in worship. He took joy in life. His all-encompassing joy was especially evident in his zeal to celebrate. He loved to celebrate. He celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, national holidays, historical memorials, and of course, Christmas. Oh, how he took joy in Christmas.
He was engaged in some of the fiercest battles of his day—against the evils of Eugenics and Socialism, against the corruptions of bureaucracy and officiousness, and against the oppressions of discrimination and elitism. He tenaciously and tirelessly fought for what was good and right and true. But even as he battled, his humor never flagged. As Maisie Ward, his authoritative biographer and friend asserted, “Some men, it may be said, are best moved to reform by grief and hate, but Chesterton was best moved by joy and love.”
He knew how to unstring the bow.
There can be little doubt about the fact that today we are living in unsettling times. Disruption, uncertainty, and fractiousness have combined to create a noxious cultural climate. People all around us, our friends, our neighbors, even members of our own families, have suffered losses and afflictions. Anger and fear are rife.
The clamor of battle is in the air.
Of course, it is in just such times that the greatest opportunities await us. It is in just such times courage, determination, and vision can have their profoundest impact. It is in just such times that the Great Commission’s calling comes back into sharp focus. It is in just such times that the reforming work we prepare our families and our churches for is most evidently needed.
In times like these, it is essential that we remain unshaken. Indeed, when all others and all else around us threaten to tremble and shake, we must be able to remain “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58) But, in order to do that, we will have to understand the principle that very hard work, very long hours, and very great stress must ultimately be matched with rest and relaxation, laughter and merriment. Otherwise, our weapons will become stiff and useless. And when push comes to shove, they will break, not bend.
A bow that remains perpetually strung loses its elasticity—and thus, its effectiveness. So, it is strategically critical for the battles ahead that we all learn when and where and how and why to unstring the bow.
It is true: “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22)