LOYALTY!

Thursday, July 2, 2020

LOYALTY!

Phil 2:19-22

19 But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.

20 For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.

21 For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's.

22 But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.

           You won’t find the words loyal or loyalty in the Bible. You will, however, find its cousins “mercy, truth, and faithful.” The concept of loyalty is sprinkled everywhere in the Bible. The word “faithful” means not only full of faith but also full of trust or “trustworthy.” You can count on the person who is faithful!

           Josiah Royce in his 1908 book The Philosophy of Loyalty presented a different definition of the concept. According to Royce, loyalty is a virtue, indeed a primary virtue, "the heart of all the virtues, the central duty amongst all the duties". Royce presents loyalty, which he defines at length, as the basic moral principle from which all other principles can be derived. The short definition that he gives of the idea is that loyalty is "the willing and practical and thoroughgoing devotion of a person to a cause". Loyalty is thoroughgoing in that it is not merely a casual interest but a wholehearted commitment to a cause.

           Christianity rejects the notion of dual loyalty. In the Gospel of Matthew 6:24, Jesus states "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon".

           Loyalty comes at a high cost. In Naomi’s time of great need, Ruth displayed a loyalty that is a model yet today! In the book that bears her name, Ruth says: “Stop asking me to go back home! Where you go, I will go and whatever lodging you find, it is there I will pillow my head as well. Your people will be my people. And I will worship your God. In fact, I will die where you die!” (Ruth 1:16,17 paraphrased)

           Today your church needs your loyalty! Your spouse needs you to be loyal. Your friends may now be in urgent need of your loyalty. God deserves your loyalty – because He is loyal to you.

I would be true, for there are those who trust me;
I would be pure, for there are those who care;
I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;
I would be brave, for there is much to dare;

Dear Lord, let me be true and faithful in my relationships and causes. AMEN