Loyalty in Relationships

Chuckle: At the beginning of math class, the teacher asked, “Timmy, what are 3 and 6 and 27 and 45?” Timmy quickly answered, “NBC, CBS, ESPN, and the Cartoon Network!”

Quote: “Unless you can find some sort of loyalty, you cannot find unity and peace in your active living.” --Josiah Royce

“A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need” (Proverbs 17:17 NLT). “Never let loyalty and kindness get away from you! Wear them like a necklace; write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will gain a good reputation” (Proverbs 3:3 NLT).

In times past, it was not uncommon for a loyal person to work for the same company for the duration of his or her professional career. Today, frequent moves from one job to another, for whatever reason, seem to have become the norm.

Loyalty is dead, the experts proclaim, and the statistics seem to bear them out. On average, U.S. corporations now lose half their customers in five years, half their employees in four, and half their investors in less than one. We seem to face a future in which the only business relationships will be opportunistic transactions between virtual strangers. –Frederick F. Reichheld

Loyalty within and between corporations is determined by loyalty between individuals. Likewise, loyalty between individuals is influenced greatly by loyalty to our Lord. This is not to say a non-believer cannot be a loyal friend. However, a Christian should be a loyal friend because of his loyalty to God. Let’s look at some synonym's for loyalty: faithfulness, allegiance, fidelity, trustworthiness, constancy, integrity, sincerity, honor, commitment, dependability, duty, honesty, devotion. Using these characteristics, we can easily evaluate our loyalty to our friends, family members, workmates, classmates and fellow Christians.

For Christians, it is our love for and loyalty to our Lord that motivates us to build healthy relationships with others, and our love for others is the basis for our loyalty in every relationship we have. Jesus said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34b NIV). “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (1 Corinthians 13:7 NLT).

What kind of friend are you? We can know a lot of people and call them friends without being true, trusted and loyal friends. A loyal friend is always available in times of distress and personal struggles. Stop for a moment and assess your loyalty to those you call friends. If your loyalty toward a friend is weak, conditional, and inconsistent, perhaps your loyalty to our Lord may be suspect. Remember, a selfish person is loyal only to self.

Love, Jerry & Dotse