I know of a decision made by an individual that in the minds of some appears to be an act of disloyalty. In this post I want to look at the subject of loyalty and determine whether a person can disagree and part from another without being disloyal.
Let's first look at definitions of loyalty.
From Wikipedia.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyalty
Loyalty, also called allegiance or truth, is faithfulness or a devotion to a person or cause.
From Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.com
1. the state or quality of being loyal; faithfulness to commitments or obligations.
2. faithful adherence to a sovereign, government, leader, cause, etc.
3. an example or instance of faithfulness, adherence, or the like: a man with fierce loyalties.
From Stanford.edu
Loyalty is usually seen as a virtue, albeit a problematic one. It is constituted centrally by perseverance in an association to which a person has become intrinsically committed. Its paradigmatic expression is found in friendship, to which loyalty is integral, but many other relationships and associations seek to encourage it as an aspect of affiliation or membership: families expect it, organizations often demand it, and countries do what they can to foster it. May one also have loyalty to principles or other abstractions? Two key issues in the discussion of loyalty concern its status as a virtue and, if that status is granted, the limits to which loyalty ought to be subject.
From these definitions we see that loyalty has to do with faithfulness to a person, an organization, a country or to principles. Loyalty is built around the ideas of relationship and respect. Loyalty without these two qualities can be problematic in that without a relationship based on equal respect one party can take advantage of the loyalty of the other and not be accountable to the other.
As Christians we need our final authority to be the Bible so let's take a look at some loyalties found in scriptures.
What do you think was the very first act of disloyalty that we can find in history? That's right the rebellion of Satan and the demons.
Isaiah 14: 13-14 You said to yourself, "I'll climb to heaven. I'll set my throne over the stars of God. I'll run the assembly of angels that meets on sacred Mount Zaphon. I'll climb to the top of the clouds. I'll take over as King of the Universe!"
Here we see that the very first act of disloyalty had to do with an attempt by Lucifer who became Satan, the Devil, to set himself up as the king of the angels and then the universe. So according to God's word one way to be disloyal is to attempt to take the leadership from another who has authority over you.
Let's look at an act of loyalty which is perfectly illustrated by the friendship of David and Jonathan found in 1 Samuel. The friendship was a loyal one built on a relationship of trust and respect towards each other. Jonathan accepted that David had been ordained to be king over Israel and David accepted that until God caused that to happen Jonathan was his superior.
In a positive relationship there is mutual trust and respect but when either of those elements are not present the relationship with deteriorate.
Now to answer whether two can disagree but yet not be disloyal.
Acts 15: 36-41 After a few days of this, Paul said to Barnabas, "Let's go back and visit all our friends in each of the towns where we preached the Word of God. Let's see how they're doing." Barnabas wanted to take John along, the John nicknamed Mark. But Paul wouldn't have him; he wasn't about to take along a quitter who, as soon as the going got tough, had jumped ship on them in Pamphylia. Tempers flared, and they ended up going their separate ways: Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus; Paul chose Silas and, offered up by their friends to the grace of the Master, went to Syria and Cilicia to build up muscle and sinew in those congregations.
St Barnabas is not mentioned again by St. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles. However, in Galatians. 2:13 a little more is learned about him, and his weakness under the taunts of the Jewish Christians is evident; and from 1 Corinthians 9:6 it may be gathered that he continued to labor as missionary. It is believed that his argument with Pual was resolved.
The dispute between Paul and Barnabas grew to the point where they separated company but nowhere in scripture does it indicate that either man was disloyal to the other. The dispute they had was not hidden and it is evident that Paul even raised the point now and then. Eventually they resolved their differences.
What I get out of all of this is disloyalty has to do with actions that are done behind the back of the one you disagree with. Speaking the truth is not disloyalty nor is mentioning the points of disagreement. Disloyalty does come into play when one talks with others in the church about the wrongs the other committed or the hurts the other caused. Disloyalty is openly trying to take control of authority from the one who has been called to lead a particular organization but pointing out error is not an act of disloyalty.
What can be taken as being disloyal is pointing out error and taking an open stand about that error. If what is being pointed out is true and it is something that is hurting the body it is not disloyal to point it out to the leader. As a leader under that leader it is a duty to point out errors that is taking place that keeps the body from growing spiritually and physically. It is not necessarily an act of disloyalty to openly point out the error in fact it may actually be an act of loyalty to the leader and to the body.
Disloyalty comes into play when the person hurt by the actions of the leader is shared with others behind the back of the leader with the idea of splitting the people from the leader.
As leaders we must be open to others sincerely pointing out to us errors that we are guilty of that keep the church from growing or that is harmful to the body. If we are accountable to the body we will respond to those who share with us errors we are committing. We have to discern when one is being loyal by pointing out our error to us and when one is being disloyal by sharing their hurts caused by us with others.
Most of all as leaders we must show our loyalty to those in our charge by truly being transparent and accountable to them. Without a relationship built on mutual trust and respect every act of disagreement will be looked upon as disloyalty.
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