The journey of faith is centered around relationships. To paraphrase Jesus’ summary, we are to love God and love our neighbor as our self. What we discover is that we are ennobled when we are part of something greater than our self. An athlete finds meaning in being part of a team. A person in the military finds meaning in serving his or her country. We find happiness in having good friends. In the Christian faith we speak of being part of the Body of Christ. The message of the Scriptures is predominantly in the plural. At the root of salvation is a healing or reconciliation of relationships with God and neighbor.
Yet loyalty to something larger than yourself can either give your life meaning or can devolve into idol worship. We can become too loyal to a sports team, company, or nation. Ironically, idolatry also finds its expression in the religious faith when we become too loyal to our perception of God, our understanding of Scripture, our image of Jesus, etc. So while commitment to something larger than our self can give life meaning and purpose, it can also be destructive, That is true for both the secular and the religious set of loyalties.
Think of loyalty as that to which we are accountable. Take the following 7 areas of your life and prioritize them according to whom or what you feel most accountable. SELF, FAMILY, EMPLOYER, NATION, CONGREGATION, THE LARGER CHURCH, AND GOD. Once you have placed them in priority order, write one sentence that is positive about such a loyalty and one that suggests a negative result of mis-held loyalty. None of them are bad in themselves and can give our life a greater meaning, but each, when inappropriately held, can become destructive. There is a sense in which each of these loyalties challenge the others and can help us maintain a balance.
