Will You Be Loyal

United Methodists ask that question in our membership vows. Will you be loyal? Today, I want to ponder the virtue of loyalty. In my childhood, the value was instilled in me from both the Boy Scout Law and Fred Flintstone’s Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes. Being true to your school, true blue, or standing with one’s own, marked the essence of a person’s character. There is a line one will not cross. Beyond that there would be dragons.

Loyal Devotion

Devotion is about the heart of who we are. One who is devoted to an idea, a cause, a community, or organization looks odd to those who do not share the same commitment. Devotion is the acting out of the virtue. When someone has another loyalty, that person is not devoted to the same thing.

A few years ago, someone remarked how loyal I am to my beliefs. The discussion that prompted this observation was during a discussion with a Muslim gentleman who claimed there was no real difference between Islam and Christianity in his view. I said there was a difference in mine. Christians express love for God differently than Muslims do. However, love for neighbor can be and often is the same. “We are both commanded to help the poor,” I said. “We can do this action together.”

I can embrace the devotee of another faith as a fellow worker without being disloyal to Jesus as Christ.

Treason

I suppose disloyal is enough of a word to be the negative of loyalty. Being a traitor though, is being disloyal by action. Treason describes a specific criminal act against one’s fellow citizens. Yet, it is a very selfish act. One can be a traitor to one’s avowed faith, organization, or cause. It is truly the opposite of being loyal.  In Mel Gibson’s film Braveheart, William Wallace argues his is not guilty of treason because he never swore any allegiance to the English king. The judge replies, “Nevertheless, he is your king.” The film claims Wallace is in the right. But legally, he was not. No matter what was in his mind, he suborned treason in Scottish Lords who had sworn allegiance to the English king.

Loyal Dissent

All my life, there has been an element of American society, especially in the South, that is quick to claim any dissent or disagreement is treason. Over the years, I claimed that even if my ideas and beliefs made me a traitor, my higher loyalty was to the truth or God. Yet, I see this same claim made by people who desire to destroy ministries and tear apart churches. What is the difference between loyal dissent and treason disguised as higher faithfulness?

Loyal dissent depends on the character and motivations of the person dissenting. Disguising treason in this way intends to deceive that one does evil with the best motivations. A troublesome person in one congregation I served easily duped others into believing she was faithful to the old ways. Few discerned the actions of the person. This person never acted as someone who kept the traditional role of women in her life. Finally, one defender said, “But she really believes…” I cut her off. “No, she does not. Else she would not be causing the problems for everyone else.”

Loyal dissent does destroy, demean, or demolish those with whom one disagrees.

Followers of Deceit

People who follow a deception become marred characters themselves. We have all seen how people having a good disposition toward others fall under the sway of disloyal people. In order to defend the disloyalty, they compromise their own souls until they completely take part in the nastiness. I see mean-spiritedness growing within people who follow mean-spirited people. Human beings tend to emulate what we honor. The problem many of us have is we accept the idea that a mean-spirited and disloyal person is honest. A “true blue” person does not allow the destruction to continue without speaking up and acting in ways that show their loyalty.

The menacing attitude of many so-called patriotic Christians is an example of followers of deceit who participate in the destruction of what they try to preserve. The capitol police officer clubbed with a blue-lives matter flagpole is the best example I know.

We who maintain our loyalty fight back. Those who have no virtue simply allow evil to overtake them while holding the best intentions.