A Word about Loyalty

Today I want to share a word about Loyalty, as I comment on Psalm 136:1-4. This passage reads:

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.

One thing is certain about the United States: we love our college sports. In some places basketball is the reigning sport, but in the South, college football is king, which reminds me of a funny story.

During the early days of the University of Alabama, the school was all-male; no females were allowed to enroll. One year at the beginning of the 20th Century, the all-male student body went on strike. These young men had two demands.

First, they wanted the administration to allow women to enroll. The leaders of the university, after some deliberation, agreed to this demand, but they objected to the second one, which was for the university to form an inter-collegiate football team. This, however, was a bridge too far for the school’s elders. They refused, protesting, “Football is a northern sport and it’ll never catch on here. Besides, it’s much too hot in Alabama to play football.” Bear Bryant would disagree, I’m sure.

Human Loyalty:

In Alabama, people are passionately loyal to their chosen team, to the point that college football has almost become a religion. It matters not that your team had a bad season, because “There’s always next year.” Team rivalries are intense, so much so that head coaches with a losing record will be forgiven if they beat their intra-state rivals. The entire State of Alabama comes to a screeching halt during the annual Alabama-Auburn “Iron Bowl” tilt. You’d think that it had snowed, the streets are so empty.

As loyal as people are to their sports teams, there is one who is even more loyal to those whom He loves: Yahweh God. As Proverbs 18:23 says, “there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother” and for us, that One is Almighty God.

God’s Loyalty:

The term that is translated “mercy” in Psalm 136 the King James Bible is the Hebrew word “chesed” and it is probably better translated as “steadfast love.” That is, the Psalmist wrote that God loved His people with an everlasting love, one which would not end regardless of what they did or did not do.

The Bible and history are replete with tales of traitors. Bathsheba betrayed Samson and David betrayed Uriah. The Children of Israel betrayed God and were described by Him as “playing the harlot” or prostituting themselves to the ways of the world as they rejected the love and ways of God. Judas and Peter betrayed Jesus, and Ananias and Saphira betrayed the Holy Spirit. Benedict Arnold betrayed the Continental Army, and his name became a synonym for a traitor. CIA officer Aldrich Ames betrayed his country and dozens of agents behind the Iron Curtain because he wanted a new car. Besides all of that, husbands and wives cheat on each other; parents betray their children by abusing them; and friends turn on each other. Sadly, loyalty is not a common human trait.

Just as the Bible records human treachery, it also records God’s loyalty to His creation, and particularly to people, who are His highest creation. The remainder of Psalm 136 is a laundry list of what God had done for Israel up to the time when the Psalmist was writing. This included everything from creating a wonderful world for His people to live in to delivering them from slavery in Egypt and also defeating the enemy kings that tried to keep God’s people from the Promised Land. God stood by His people like that “friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”

Despite God’s loyalty, His people betrayed Him, and they turned to other Gods and other ways of life. In response, God doubled down on His loyalty. He knew that people were frail and limited; He saw that they were hapless, helpless, and hopeless in their sin. He could have turned His back, but instead He send His Only Begotten, His Son Jesus, to save people from their sin. Paul described God’s loyal to people this way in Roman 5:6-8,

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

So, not only does God stand by the people He created, but He also acts to save them from themselves. This truly is steadfast, patient, enduring love. It is also the ultimate example of loyalty. Even more than that, God, through the Holy Spirit, helps people to be loyal too, by writing His Word on their hearts and empowering them to walk in the light of His Word.

Our Loyalty:

Because God is loyal to us, we can be loyal to Him. We also can be loyal to our families, our churches, our communities, our friends, and our comrades. 

Thank God today for His everlasting mercy, for His steadfast love, and for sticking to us even closer than a brother. Ask Him to help you be loyal Him and His creation as well, for He surely deserves it!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt