Lessons from the strange race between the Tortoise & the Hare

One of the fables I’ve learned from childhood and has always stuck to me is that of the Tortoise & the Hare.

All of us who’ve read it knows it’s a fable about the two animals, very different in their natural make up, racing each other. It’s a strange race to say the least. On one hand is a fast-on-his-feet Hare & the other, a slow-by-nature Tortoise. There’s seemingly no doubt who will win. However, The over-confident Hare after a excellent start, stops to nap & is thus overtaken by the Tortoise, who ends up beating him in the race.

I think sometimes our spiritual walks can be compared to the race of the Tortoise & the Hare.

Often times we are start off our race like the Hare, full of ourselves and indeed we may even run for a while full speed ahead.

Then, over confident that we will reach our destination, or perhaps just tired, we “stop to nap”. Sadly, many who do this more often than not get caught up in the cares of the world & distracted by the many pleasures & distractions the world has to often and never end up waking from their spiritual naps.

On the other hand, sometimes our spiritual walks are akin to the Tortoise’s predicament. It seems harder than we’re “naturally built” for. Just like racing isn’t something that seems befitting for Tortoises, we feel that our spiritual walk is out of place in our worlds. Sometimes we may feel that we should just be like all the other Tortoises and not get in any race.

However, like the fable goes, as improbable as a Tortoise winning a race seems - it is possible if we “keep on keeping on”. The trick is to just take one step at a time. No matter how far the finish line may seem, no matter how slow progress may seem, if we keep on course - on the path of the Lord, in His Will, in the Way that He guides us, then we WILL finish the race!

Like the Tortoise in the fable, we should also not concentrate on the Hares of this world, but focus on the finish line & get there as soon as we can according to the abilities the Lord has given us - rather than competing with the abilities of seemingly superior people - or people who’ve had “a head start” in the race of life.

Racing analogies are seen all through the Bible as well. St. Paul particularly referred to his walk as a race many times in the New Testament.

We read in Acts 20:24, he considers his life as nothing, all he wants is to “finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given”.

Again in 1 Corinthians 9, he tells us how to run our races - with strict training, just like the ones who compete for professional sports here on earth (but more so, since our prizes are imperishable!) and with a fixed aim (if we run aimlessly, we will reach nowhere) and with great discipline in the body, mind and flesh so that, as he says “after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (vs 24 - 27)

Where are you right now in the spiritual race you’re running? Are you the sort who seemed a natural to win, starting off with great promise, only to take a nap along the way & now in seeming danger of never making the finish line? If so, WAKE UP!! It’s not too late to re-focus and pick up where you’ve left off from.

Are you on the other hand pulled down by the fact that you’ve seemingly got such a long way to go ahead of you despite all that you’ve already done? Are you tired & depressed that things just don’t seem to be going the way you want? Feel like you’re not naturally upto winning? Are people around you mocking your lack of apparent progress?

Don’t listen to the Hares of the world - or the lies of the evil one who will try to dissuade you from keeping to the course. Keep walking, keep moving ahead, don’t stop - the road may be long, but if you keep going, you will reach the end.

Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 9: 11 “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong”. Just keep your focus on the Lord & keep going.

Then like St. Paul, we too will one day be able to say “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7) or perhaps, to quote Aesop “Slow and Steady wins the race”

Here’s wishing you reach the finish line & win the “crown of glory” the Lord has in store for you.