We also know that our instinctive answer is not Paul's answer. If you do not know it, then I must tell you. The answers that I have been drawing together from our personal experience, and from the knowledge we have of human beings, these answers are not Paul's answer. His answer is quite different. Like a bee that has not lost its life but has lost its power to sting.
Death has no more power to sting.
He was a Jew and therefore it is hard for us to put ourselves in his place. His mind works differently from ours. Certainly not ours. We are not well acquainted with victory, even over ourselves, when we are honest with ourselves. We may be able to celebrate some minor victories over temptations and handicaps, but we are not in a position to celebrate any major victories over the self as the dominating principle of our lives.