loyal

My lips praise you
            because your faithful love
            is better than life itself! – Psalm 63:3 (CEB)

When I saw today’s prompt, I had a negative reaction.  I think it is because of how the word loyal has been used in current national events. Loyalty is a positive attribute only if what or who you are loyal to is positive.

It’s probably only in my head, but I see faithful as something different than loyalty.  When I looked up the definitions of each word, they are essentially synonyms of one another. My internal dictionary sees loyalty as an act of service and submission.  When I think of loyalty, I think of dogs.  There’s nothing bad about dogs, but their loyalty can be blind since dogs will be loyal even to bad masters.  Loyalty can be a one-way street.

By day the LORD commands
            his faithful love;
                        by night his song is with me—
                        a prayer to the God of my life. – Psalm 42:8 (CEB)

Faithful, therefore, is more about steadfastness to me. I think it’s because when I think of faithfulness, I think of God.  God’s faithfulness is a large stone in the foundation of my personal theology.  My faith is based on God’s faithfulness.

Fill us full every morning
            with your faithful love
                        so we can rejoice and celebrate
                        our whole life long. – Psalm 90:14 (CEB)

It isn’t that God is loyal to me.  It’s that God is faithful to who God is.  I can rely on God to be God regardless of everything else.  My faithfulness to God is also an act of service and submission, but it is not blind loyalty.  Faithfulness isn’t a one-way street.  Faithfulness is founded in mutuality and relationship.

Faithful love and truth have met;
            righteousness and peace have kissed. – Psalm 85:10 (CEB)

The Hebrew word chesed is the word for God’s covenantal love for us. The CEB translates it as “faithful love” and the NRSV as “steadfast love.”  This is a love that endures.  A love worth being faithful to.

Give thanks to the LORD
            because he is good,
            because his faithful love lasts forever. – Psalm 118:29 (CEB)

—–Every Friday, I receive a word to write on for five minutes. You can read more about it and other great posts here.