When loyalty is confused for love

But when loyalty becomes a practice of dismissing the consideration of right and wrong in order to “stand with” somebody, then it ceases to be a good civil habit, and it becomes something else. Sadly Christian Fundamentalism has promoted loyalty way, way more than it has promoted love. I can recall generous amounts of sermon time devoted to loyalty. I cannot recall any such asides about love. And yet love is the crowning Christian virtue. And loyalty- – when raised to that level of pre-eminence- – -becomes a counterfeit of love.

…And because of Christian Fundamentalism’s estrangement from Christian love, I will define it for my readers. If we consider all New Testament passages on this topic, we can say that love is a practice of benevolence towards others: all others. Christian love excludes respect of persons, even down to refusing to be biased by who is my friend vs who is my enemy. So to further define it, let’s say, love is the practice of benevolence with the mind of Christ as its engine. I am not kind to you because you donate money to my cause annually. I am kind to you because Christ has directed kindness to you. That’s love.

…Loyalty demands complete, instant obedience. But love gives whatever is needed.

…People in a culture of loyalty have to keep validating their own choices of being loyal. So, ultimately, a culture of loyalty must manifest the power and glory of the object of the loyalty. There has to be a bigger following or a costly adornment or a magnificent temple of some sort, just to keep validating the value of being loyal. So more heads will roll. There will be more conquests for the sake of the cause. More of the weak and uncertain will be swept out of the way.

From Blog on the Way The Loyalty Deception, Loyalty and Alienation, Loyalty and Enslavement to the now