1 Samuel 24:6-10 He
said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the
Lord's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord's
anointed.” So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them
to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.
Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My
lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to
the earth and paid homage. And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the
words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? Behold, this day your
eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some
told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand
against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.’
I’ve been thinking for awhile about writing something on the
subject of loyalty. In the scripture we see David is still loyal to King Saul,
even though Saul was seeking to kill David.
Last Tuesday night at City Council we all recited the Pledge of
Allegiance. I remember saying the Girl Scout Pledge and Law. “I promise, on my
honor, I pledge, until death do us part…” all of these are words associated
with our promises of unfailing loyalty. And yet loyalty seems to have fallen
from its place of importance among qualities of character over the
decades. Divorce rates have soared.
People have more and more serial marriages if they even commit to marriage. We
see less and less brand loyalty. It seems like we’re always looking for a
better deal – in relationships, in jobs, in products. The thing which is of
concern to me as a pastor is that this lack of loyalty carries over into our
faith life. In every church you can find
those who are faithfully in worship Sunday after Sunday, year after year. In the same church there will be others who
come when there’s nothing better going on.
If they become dissatisfied with the pastor or some other aspect of the
church they don’t hesitate to go elsewhere.
Of course there are those in between who cannot always be there but come
when they can. Loyalty to the Kingdom of
God isn’t all about church attendance.
It is however about being loyal to Christ’s attitude of selflessness –
of living out our faith. In any event, I think there’s a direct correlation
between being a person to whom loyalty is important and one’s quality of
life. As always, being loyal to someone
or something must also be tempered with good judgment.
Help us to be loyal to You, Lord God; to not stray when
something else seems more attractive than your teachings and your ways. We ask
in Jesus’ name Amen.
Have a blessed day,
Paige
Paige
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