Loyalty has its Limits

Daily Reading:  Proverbs 9:1 – 12

“Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee:  rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.”

                                                Proverbs 9:8

Leaders need to demonstrate loyalty, but to whom?  to what?  Should you be loyal to those whom God has entrusted you to lead?  Yes.  We should certainly exercise loyalty in our relationships.  Loyalty promotes unity and trust.  Relationships are built on trust.  Proverbs 18:24 exemplifies loyalty when it says, “There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”  

However, loyalty to others must have limits in the life of a believer.  In life, in earthly relationships, confrontation is sometimes required.  We must gird our loins and speak the truth in love.  It is in these moments that our true loyalty is on display.  We must be loyal to the truth.  We must be loyal to God and His Word.  Either Scripture is the guiding rule in our relationships, or we do not have much of a relationship at all.  

Confronting people with whom we have a relationship, and a problem is never easy or comfortable.  You never know how someone is going to respond.  Sometimes we do not respond as we should.  Our pride clouds our judgment.  Rather than responding to confrontation thankful that someone loved us enough to try to help us to see our own faults, our pride causes us to become defensive.  Our reaction to reproof determines whether we are wise or unwise.  

One thing is certain.  If we remain loyal in our relationship with God and His Word, it will absolutely have an impact on ALL other relationships.