TEXT: II Timothy 4:16

SUBJECT: Disloyalty

Disloyalty is one of the leading sins of our time. The idea that the marriage vow ought to be taken literally, "...til death do us part", for example, is thought to be unfeasible in this modern world in which--frankly--people just "grow apart from one another". Loyalty between the generations is even rarer. To remain unmarried, for instance, in order to take care of an ailing parent, is nearly unheard of. Friendships, too, are largely superficial and utilitarian. "Friends" are made to serve an ulterior purpose, which, once met, makes them disposable. Even churches are not guiltless. For the typical response to "something going on in the church you disagree with" is to leave, thus severing spiritual ties and disrupting fellowship. Ministers--it seems to me--are especially vulnerable here. I know a man, who had faults to be sure. But he genuinely loved his people, watching over them with the tender affection of a mother. Yet many became dissatisfied with him, and quit the man. The man who had paid their bills out of his own pocket, who had sat up all night at their bedsides, who had spent countless hours praying over them, often with bitter tears. Disloyalty, therefore, is a sin as common as it is malignant.

No one--to the best of my knowledge--aspires to it. We all find it repulsive in the extreme. But can any plead "not guilty" to the charge of it? Haven't you lost friends through your own selfishness? Haven't you disappointed the ones who gave you life? Have you remained unswervingly faithful to your brethren?

We have all--at one time or another--been disloyal to our friends, family, and brethren. And admitting that is like "tasting the wormwood and the gall", isn't it?

Disloyalty, of course, is an old sin. It was found first in Eden. Right after Adam broke faith with God he implicated his wife, didn't he? There wasn't much loyalty between Cain and Abel, was there? Not too much love between Jacob and Esau. And Joseph's brothers lacked a little in that department as well.

Disloyalty, therefore, seems all but ingrained in the human soul. But it is not. It is not a characteristic of humanity as such, but of fallen humanity. And therefore, it is redeemable by the One who came "to save His people from their sins".

As Christians, therefore, we ought to esteem and cultivate the grace of loyalty more than we do. And here, I don't think that I need even make an extensive argument. Your own conscience bears witness to what I am saying. If "The Golden Rule" is to be followed, and if you have been stung by the disloyalty of others, then you ought to seek to avoid "doing unto others what you would not have them do unto you".

But urging you to be more loyal assumes that you know what "loyalty" is. I wonder if you do? "Loyalty" is not a blind devotion to another. "My country, right or wrong"--that idea. The followers of Jim Jones, for example, were not really loyal to their leader. They were more like "brainwashed or imprisoned" by him. It is not a worship of another, an idolatry of sorts. It is not a devotion imposed from above or enforced by external powers.

"Loyalty" is a spontaneous, voluntary matter. It comes from within. It is not always easy to be loyal. But the thought of acting otherwise chafes the conscience something awful. Betrayal to one genuinely loyal is unthinkable.

Two Proverbs combine to give a short, but excellent, definition of "loyalty". 17:17 hits the nail right on the head: "A friend loves at all times". 18:24 is also enlightening, "To have friends a man must show himself friendly, and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother". From these verses we may cull three characteristics of loyalty: It is intimate ("sticking closer than a brother"); it is constant ("A friend loves at all times"); and--in short--it is "committment".

To be loyal, therefore, means to be committed to another. You're married--for life. You're in the church--to stay. We're friends--forever.

Loyalty, therefore, is the opposite of certain things, not all of which are as ugly as others. A loyal man, obviously, is the opposite of a traitor. He is the opposite of a hypocrite. The opposite of a cad. But other "opposites" ought to be mentioned as well. Loyalty is the opposite of shallowness, the opposite of ficklness, and even the opposite of indecision.

And so, if you're loyal, you're not like Judas, "betraying the Lord with a kiss". You're not like the early disciples of John, "willing to rejoice in his light for a season". You're not like the farmer, "having put his hand to the plow, looking back". You are committed, devoted, decisive. In a word, you're "faithful".

Now that we know what loyalty is, let us turn our attention to its objects. Its chief object, of course, is Christ. Our devotion to Him is to be so great that the tenderest human love is to be "hatred" in comparison to it. We're also to be devoted to the Bible and its doctrinal content. "Contend earnestly for the faith that was once delivered to the saints" means "be loyal to the truth". Loyalty to country "Honor the king". Loyalty to family "The two shall be one flesh". Loyalty to our calling "Whatever you do, do it heartily". None of these should be overlooked.

But the loyalty called for in this text is to none of these things. Paul bewails the fact that his "friends" have been personally disloyal to him. He doesn't say, "At my first defense, no man stood for Christ...or "no man stood for principle". No, he makes it rather personal, doesn't he? "No man stood with ME!"

And so, this text teaches (by contrast) the importance of personal loyalty to our brethren. We ought to be not only with one another, but devoted to one another. This I can prove, not only by a logical deduction, but from a plain, unmistakable Scripture. In II Timothy 1:8 we read, "Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner..." There is more than "devotion to principle" here, isn't there? It is intensely personal.

We ought therefore, to cultivate loyalty to one another. This is important, for many friendships and churches have been ruined by emphasizing "devotion to principle" to the exclusion of "personal loyalty".

Robert E. Lee's example seems pertinent here. He was, of course, a son of Virginia and an officer in the U. S. Army. As the Civil War neared, he was caught in a dilemma. On which side should he fight? Abstractions urged him to join the Union Forces. He did not believe in "the right of secession" or slavery. But real people tugged the other way. After a agonizing struggle, he made up his mind. He would fight for the Confederacy. And do you know why? "I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home". His integrity is admired on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. After the war, some would have him tried and a traitor and hanged for his crimes. But this notion was so repugnant to General Grant that he threatened to resign his commission if it were carried through. Lee, therefore, a man of irreproachable character was demonstrated personal loyalty, whatever the cost.

But the good General wasn't the only man to show such integrity. A man in the Bible did as well. His name is Jonathan. He and David, of course, were close friends. Their "hearts had been knitted togther". Jonathan was the heir-apparent to the throne of Israel. But David was "the anointed of the LORD". Jonathan, though, was so loyal to David that he gladly surrendered his claims to the crown in favor of his dear friend. The Scripture, therefore, urges us--by precept and example--to be personally loyal to one another.

It also recommends this duty by contrast. Here, David serves as an example. Psalm 55 finds the king in a "bad mood". He is thundering out declamations of every sort. "Let death size them; let them go down alive into hell...destroy, O LORD and divide their tongues". And against whom is is fulminating? The twelfth verse tells us, "For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has magnified himself against me; then I could hide from him. But it was you, a man my equl, my companion and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together and walked to the house of God in a throng." Personal disloyalty, therefore was monstrous to David...and to the God who inspired Him.

Grave importance, therefore, is placed upon personal loyalty in the Bible.

But what are the reasons for this emphasis? Why is it so important to cultivate a personal devotion to one another? Of the various reasons that may be offered, one stands out far above the others. Personal loyalty is part of conformity to Jesus Christ. John 13:1 could not be plainer, "...having love His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end".

And loving this bunch to the end was no easy task. The apostles were seriously flawed. One of them, Nathaniel got off to a rocky start in his relationship with Christ. The Lord's first mention was met with a sneer, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" James and John had bad tempers, earning the nickname "Sons of Thunder". Peter was constantly shooting off his mouth. In the end, of course, he would "deny the Lord who bought Him". And so, these men weren't particularly lovable, were they? They weren't even very pleasant to be around. Yet "Jesus, having loved His own who were in the world, loved them to the end".

Christ's loyalty to His people is so unswerving that He would say, just before the ascension, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world".

If, therefore you would "be like Jesus", you must work on building and sustaining loyalty to your brethren.

The blessings of this loyalty are great. "Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity". And this unity--in the world--can never be perfect. Yet even imperfect unity is, in God's sight--"Like the precious ointment upon the beard of Aaron". Its lack is just as bad as its presence is good. Who can read our text with comfort? "At my first defense, no man stood with me, but all men forsook me..."

It is most blessed, therefore, to be loyal to your brethren and to enjoy their loyalty. But how is this achieved? Three steps are necessary:

First, intimacy. It is impossible to be loyal to a name or a face. You can only be loyal to a person, a real, whole, flesh-and-blood person. But that will require some work on your part, won't it? There are people in the church, alas, who are only "names and faces" to you, aren't there? How do you expect to be devoted to such abstractions? No, you have to "know them who labor among you".

Second, self-denial. It is not easy to remain loyal to another. But it is necessary. Therefore, in this matter, like others, you must "Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Christ".

Third, fervent love. I Peter 4:8 stesses this, "And above all things, have fervent charity for one another, for charity shall cover the multitude of sins."