Fighting with Nothing to Lose

You’ve probably heard the expression, “I’ve got nothing to lose!” Society puts that forward as something pretty hardcore like, “Bring it on!” It denotes a certain courage, and it can be really helpful in fighting and winning a battle. You wouldn’t be paralyzed by fear, and with a nothing-to-lose attitude, you might be able to summon up a certain anger or fury necessary for victory.

The problem with this ideology or this mindset is that while it might help in winning the battle—being daring when daring is needed—it’s not helpful overall in winning a war. The guy who’s got nothing to lose also doesn’t have anything to fight for. He doesn’t usually have any attachments that keep him alive. He’s not able to endure the long- suffering that accompanies hardship, whatever the hardship might be.

Bottle Rocket vs. Bonfire

If we’re talking pyrotechnics for a moment, the nothing-to-lose guy would be similar to a bottle rocket when what is actually needed is a long-burning bonfire. What I would want in a solider or protector is someone with familial attachment, romance, kids, and specific reasons that drives them to love deeply. That’s the kind of motivation that will see them through the tumultuous ups and downs and the strains of war or any type of battlefield.

Our love for others serves as a certain type of fuel that keeps us driving on, and that’s a good thing. It’s not a weakness we’ve been brainwashed into believing. We’re certainly people who have a lot to lose, and in fact that gives us strength in the long term.

Now, in the moment of harsh battle, we shouldn’t be thinking of the attachments that keep us going, because we should be focused on the task at hand, having the ability to set those attachments aside to successfully complete the objective. You can’t think, “Oh, my wife and kids! Oh, my wife and kids!” when you should be thinking how to read the terrain, maneuver the battlefield, and extricate your enemies from the planet. Putting your attachments in the backseat while you go to work is not the same as having nothing to lose.

The Real Liability

If you have nothing to lose, you may win the battle, but you will be a liability in the war. You can only go so far and so long without a heart. Warrior Poets are people of conviction. Those convictions are the good fuel we need, but if you lose the purpose for which you fight, your utility diminishes. Your days are numbered in the arena of protecting and providing. You’ll burnout and just give up. Whether in war or daily life, burnout equals death, death of the body, death of the spirit. Both are equally lethal.

We don’t want to to succeed in the battle just to get home and fail in life. We want to be full people, succeeding in life and succeeding in whatever battlefield you find yourself in (I’m using war and battle as a metaphor here for tons of different applicable categories, whether that be a job, ministry, raising a family, entrepreneurship, or actual combat).

Conclusion

So next time somebody sings you to sleep with the romance of someone fighting with nothing left to lose, understand that it is our convictions, our attachments, our affections, and our deep love of freedom, God, and family that makes us strong, that motivates us to train and go the distance. This is what wins wars.

We are Warrior Poets. Train accordingly the body, the mind, and the spirit.

Remember, Train Hard. Train Smart. And love deeply.