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Loyalty

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matt. 6:24, NKJV). What does this text teach us about the supreme importance of loyalty to God?

Knowing that God’s name means “jealous” (Exod. 34:14) should give us a clarion call for loyalty. Loyalty to a “jealous” God is loyalty in love. In the fight of faith, loyalty helps define who we are and encourages us to stay in the battle.

Our loyalty is important to God (1 Kings 8:61). It is not a contract that tries to foresee every contingency; nor is it just a list of rules. It is, rather, the visible expression of our personal beliefs, faith, and commitment.

Read 1 Chronicles 28:9. What does this text teach us about the importance of loyalty?

Where there is loyalty, however, there is the possibility of betrayal. Loyalty, like love, must be freely offered, or it’s not true loyalty. In war, sometimes frontline troops are forced to stay and fight; otherwise, their officers would have them shot. These men might do their duty, but it isn’t necessarily out of loyalty. That’s not the kind of loyalty God asks of us.

Look at Job. He did not foresee the catastrophic events that would destroy his family, possessions, and health. He could have given up trust, love, and commitment, but his loyalty to God was an unwavering choice of morality. Honest and unafraid to praise God publicly, he uttered the famous words “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15, NKJV). His fidelity in the face of disaster is the essence of loyalty, and it illustrates loyal stewards at their finest.

Ask yourself: How loyal am I to the Lord, who died for me? In what ways could I better reveal that loyalty?