Worldly vs. Godly Loyalty
Worldly loyalty is toward colleagues and friends and is based on desire to gain something in return, this allegiance is cheap and humanistic. This feeling of support is linked closely to hierarchy and is valuable within institutions and in most functioning societies (governments, companies and religious institutions.) If you want to get ahead then be loyal and learn how to display it often.
Any leader or institution that requires and thrives on this first type of loyalty must become divisive. I say that because he must exalt those who are loyal and oppress (or at least disregard) those who are disloyal (to one degree or another) in order to keep things orderly and under themselves.
There is also a Godly loyalty between people based upon love. This love binds the kingdom of God together. It makes healthy society work. It is misunderstood by most and is sometimes seen as weak and small. Loyalty based on love makes groups of people function effortlessly. Real love comes from another realm altogether and is a key feature of the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Ask yourself a few questions:
- Are you loyal to people?
- Why are you loyal to the institutions or people that you are loyal to?
- Take away whatever benefit you are receiving (or hope to receive from it) and will it go away?
When all those benefits are stripped away all that will be left is loyalty based on love. Jesus Christ is the only source of love.
