Christian Loyalty, Revised & Expanded Series

Christian Loyalty, Revised & Expanded

As an introduction, I would like to admit that in 2017 a much shorter version of “Loyalty” was submitted and freely distributed. This lengthier, updated submission was written to give the subject of “Christian Loyalty” a more appropriate reexamination.

In the dictionary, the word “Loyalty” is defined as an unwavering allegiance. It could be an commitment to a cause, the government, an individual, an ideal, or custom. Too bad the dictionary failed to mention God.

Important Biblical synonyms to Loyalty are; Allegiance, Devout Faith, Fidelity, Honesty, Honor, Integrity, Obedience, Sincerity, Trustworthiness, And Conscientiousness.

Conversely, antonyms of loyalty are; Disloyalty, Disgrace, Dishonesty, Dishonor, Lying, Treachery, and Faithlessness.

Given these two groupings of words, which most reflect your choices? Which team are you on? Following which leader? And, lastly, are you an ardent supporter of God, if so, what are you doing for Him and your neighbors on a daily basis?

The adjective cha·sidh' is used in the Hebrew scriptures as loyalty or describing “someone loyal,” or “one of loving-kindness.” The noun che'sedh has reference to kindness but contains more than the thought of tender regard or kindness stemming from love, though it includes such traits. Depending on which Bible version you reference, you may not even find the word “Loyal” at all. Instead, you may see a substitute like “kindness, “steadfast love,” “faithful,” “followed,”or even “aright.”

What organizations, teams, and/or causes are you loyal to? How do loyalty and friendship differ? How are they the same? How would you feel if a friend proved disloyal? Are you loyal to God? Are you loyal to your friends? How do you think God feels about your overall loyalty and efforts directed towards His expressed goals for your mission work within His kingdom?

Let's slip into God's Word for a few brief verses some of which exalt loyalty and other verses spotlight the shameful sins of disloyalty.

Judges 8:35, They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) in spite of all the good things he had done for them.

1 Samuel 22:14, Ahimelek answered the king, “Who of all your servants is as loyal as David, the king’s son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly respected in your household?

2 Samuel 2:10, Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, was forty years old when he became king over Israel and he reigned two years. The tribe of Judah, however, remained loyal to David.

2 Samuel 3:8, Then Abner became very angry at the words of Ish-bosheth, and said, “Am I a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show loyalty to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David; and you charge me today with a fault concerning this woman?

1 Kings 12:20, When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.

1 Chronicles 12:29, Saul’s tribe of 3,000 men, most of whom remained loyal to Saul’s house until then;

1 Chronicles 12:33, from Zebulun, experienced soldiers prepared for battle with every type of weapons, to help David with undivided loyalty—50,000

Psalm 78:8, They would not be like their ancestors—a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.

Psalm 78:37, their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant.

1 Chronicles 29:18, Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.*(the NKJV says, “fix their heart toward You.”)

“Loyalty to God leads to devotion to others. Devotion to others requires the spirit of self-sacrifice. The spirit of self-sacrifice leads to greater rewards in heaven.”

Positive things often have polar opposites. What are some opposites of being a loyal Christian? Many secular people believe they can exercise one of a few cherry-picked choices; They can become Christians later, they can stay apathetically neutral, they can deny God or, as some do, embrace to reach out to Satan. While “betting” you can become a Christian later is a huge, forever and ever, risk, those last three atrocious examples are severely wrong!

We all start on the wrong team. We all are born guilty of original sin and, by our own merits, only deserve eternal damnation. We can't choose Satan because that is already our default team because of our devious, egregious human natures. If you don't believe that, just think back on how many one and two-year old children you know that, with no training whatsoever, are able to throw quite the tantrum, play on your emotions, or steal a sweet from their siblings?