Loyalty

My first full day back from my Association meeting, committed anew to my developing practice and to doing the practice, I sat down early this Monday morning to read the Bible Lesson about "Sacrament." The thought came to me about the word "loyalty."

It is known that the word "sacrament" comes from an old Latin word meaning "pledge" or "oath," which implies loyalty or allegiance to something (in the case of the old Roman Empire, it was loyalty to a superior officer in the army).

After I read and pondered the Lesson for a short while, it occurred to me to open the Bible at random and read the first passage that came to me. I did so, an my eyes fell upon Ruth 1:1-18, the description of Naomi, who lost her husband and two sons and was lefgt with her two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. This was certainly a case study in loyalty or allegiance, when Naomi insisted her daughters-in-law return to their native countries to be with their people, yet Ruth "clave unto" Naomi, insisting that she was going to be loyal to Naomi, her homeland and (noteworthy here), her God. Orpah left Naomi, however.

I saw this is a description of our lives - we have to watch our thought and make sure we are loyal to God, good, who is Spirit (John 4:24) and Love (I John 4:8). To me, this means our thought and our lives should always be spiritual, loving and good, and we should always be denouncing and rejecting those thoughts or beliefs that don't fit those criteria. Any time we think of something that is not spiritual, loving or good, we are breaking our promise, our oath, showing disloyalty to God.

You notice that Ruth stayed and committed to helping Naomi, while Orpah left and did not come back. Ruth was all in, for better or worse, committed all the way. Orpah committed too, but she committed herself to her homeland, her people and her gods. She didn't vacillate between two perspectives - she didn't go back to Naomi when things got rough at home, just like Ruth didn't leave Naomi's side. If we think about it, I think many of us every day make decisions to be loyal to God/Spirit/good one minute and to matter/evil the next. We love our friends but hate our enemies. We are grateful to God for all we receive, but then we're envious because someone else has more than us. We believe that God is the final arbiter of justice, yet we feel vengeful when we've been wronged. We thank God for our health, but as soon as we don't feel well, we go to the doctor or take that medicine that is believed to "cure" the problem.

Let us not be disloyal. Exodus 20:3 says "Thou shalt have no other gods ..." This is the ultimate oath of loyalty. We shall not have any thought that is not of God. The sacrament - whatever form it takes, whether is be spiritual, material or ritual - will mean nothing if we don't follow through on our commitment to be loyal to God and His Allness. If He is infinite All and is spiritual, loving and good, then we should keep our own oath and be that in our own thought. After all, we are the children of God, made in His image (Gen. 1:27).

Today, I will work on my loyalty to God. Join me and pledge allegiance, one moment and one thought at a time. If you fall, make a new pledge with the next thought. Your progress is guaranteed.