WEDNESDAY'S WORD - LOYALTY - 10/30/19 - Sadell Bradley

 

   

"What is a disloyal act? A person is disloyal if he treats you as a stranger when, in fact, he belongs to you as a friend or partner. Each of us is bound to some special others by the invisible fibers of loyalty."  -Lewis B. Smedes 

 

My day job is working at a business incubator called MORTAR in Cincinnati. One of the things we teach is that it's easier and often cheaper to retain customers once you offer a quality service or product than it is to obtain new ones. We try to help them find ways to arrive at customer LOYALTY - a strong feeling, or giving of firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution. Loyalty makes you get the same brand of toothpaste over and over again. You might be loyal to a particular make and model of car, a fraternity or sorority, or an educational or religious institution. The word derives from the Latin legalis, or legal. A loyal person holds a very strong bond.

 

Loyalty is a relational matter. David, the shepherd-warrior, had a loyal friend in his predecessor king Saul's son Jonathan. In 1 Sam 18-21, we see Saul's growing fear of David's impending rule and Jonathan's steadfast loyalty, not to his own father, but to his friend. His allegiance is so deep that he is willing to forego his own birthright and inheritance as the next king. When Saul seeks to kill David, Jonathan runs interference, "Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. 5 He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?"  (1Sam 19:4-5) Despite his son's loyalty to his friend, Saul determines to kill David. David is aware of this plot. Jonathan makes an oath to David in 1 Sam 20:12-17 that he will tell him if his father attempts to carry out his murderous desires. The Bible says they affirmed an oath of love because Jonathan loved David, 'as he loved himself.' (vs. 17)  

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Every leader, every spouse, every person for that matter...wants to have that kind of relationship: someone on whom they can rely no matter what. Sadly, loyalty, deep bonds, and alliances are hard to come by these days. This section of the quote above hits hard, "A person is disloyal if he/she treats you as a stranger when in fact, he/she belongs to you as a friend or partner."  We wish sometimes that others were as loyal to us as we are to them. It's painful to find that's not the case; but love is still loyal, and loyalty is love.