In our time, we have seen a lessening of loyalty and reliability.  This is not all bad. There is certainly no virtue in being loyal to the wrong things, and I speak of reliability in the sense of faithfulness to duty, realizing that, sometimes, we have to change courses.  These aside, people do not seem to stick with things as in a former time. Those of the prior generation (using myself as a reference point) held loyalty and faithfulness as core values. To them, it was a shame and disgrace to be seen as one unfit for reliance.

It may be that we have learned to be disloyal.  Loyalty is a two-way street. Many have discovered the hard way that fidelity is not always rewarded.  Those who insist that professional athletes honor their contracts often disregard the plain fact that the team can terminate the athletes in question at any time.  Little regard will be given them, even if they limp away. So, things are not as simple as they sound- just as they never were. Still, we have lost something if the value of staying with a difficult task has gone by the way.

Think how many things we would or could give up on if we did not value loyalty.  No marriages would last if we had any relationships at all. Our world would be poorer because much innovation comes as great risk.

At times, loyalty will come easy, but it is often difficult.  This is one of the great themes of Kipling’s “If for Boys.”  We all need to learn the lesson of saying “hold on” long after all but sheer will and grit are gone.  Those who are true to good causes will likely be satisfied at the end of the day.

Many times, I have seen toilers “take a break” never to return to task.  The separation becomes a divorce simply because it’s hard to return to duty.  Not that this is what they say. Rather, we couch the terms of our escapes in flowery speeches laden with accolades and well-wishes when what was needed was a strong back.  Is it any wonder we have difficulty teaching the value of enduring hardness to youths? We all need room to breathe, however, rest is for rejuvenation- not more rest. The task remains.

Jesus brought freedom as a release from the bondage of the Mosaic Law, but it was not a release from responsibility.  Rather, our freedom in Christ is to bind us to Him with a cord stronger than any prohibitive decree. A seeming paradox but true nonetheless.  Christ-followers have an unenforceable bond to Him. It is the bond of voluntary submission induced by love and grace. God could force us to trust and obey, but that is not His plan.  The constraints of love are strong but built on the relationship with our Lord.

The same unenforceable bond exists between believers and in the community of the church.  We must love and lean on one another to hold together at all- much less accomplish any worthwhile task.  Life is a struggle, but loyalty in relationships will enhance the journey. We were meant to be free, but made to be interdependent.  In the present age, we need each other.

We’ve cut too many ties already.  Reality and relationships are hard, but the latter makes the former bearable if we find the will to say, “Hold on.” 

Sterl