Loyalty From Royalty

It's amazing how many people love God. Just watch any award show for music or acting.  Without fail, it seems someone thanks God for success, which He’d label as immoral.  Ultimately, it’s an incrimination of our deluded version of love as a society.  One after another, rock stars and movie stars thank God for awards that represent artistic works that often mock God, His principals, His name, and His commandments.  There’s absolutely no loyalty to God.
 
No culture is off-limits to this twisted contagion.  We can sing “I love you, Lord” in church on Sunday and curse our fellow believers on Monday. Judas disguised betrayal with love when he leaned forward to kiss Jesus, signaling to the mob Who to arrest.  His disloyalty is forever memorialized as “Judas’ kiss”.
 
Love—what a funny word in our modern culture.  I've talked to abusers who say they love and yet repeatedly hurt the same people they say they love.  Then the victims pledge unfailing loyalty to the abuser.  Can we just stop the madness and step out of this disgusting lie?
 
My favorite ‘L’ word is not love; it's loyalty.  True love is loyal, and it's my preferred attribute of love.  On the other hand, it is possible to have a twisted form of loyalty that’s not the product of love.  Here's the scary thing about that kind of loyalty: it’s dark and will take you to dark places.  Gangs, cults, crime families, and abusers with their codependents all practice dark loyalty.  It’s of the devil himself and requires disloyalty to God's principles for life.  This counterfeit is common, though, and I've even seen it used in churches.  Sometimes this dark loyalty is used to cover for family shame or to promote a social clique with wholesale discrimination.  It’s become popular to mock and even protest Christian family values, principals, and morals.  The pressure can be so intense that I’ve seen church members cannibalize each other, figuratively speaking, in an effort to appease the ‘Judas mob’.  Too much love-talk and no loyalty
 
If you're building a family, loyalty is essential.  If you're starting a business or needing to get your venture out of debt, loyalty is critical to becoming profitable.  Without loyalty, you've got nothing!  People talk love because they’ve redefined the meaning to fit their personal narrative, but without loyalty, it's a lie.  If someone is talking marriage and there’s a crack in their loyalty, run.  Yes, run!  
 
You must be loyal to God as His child, and then be loyal to yourself or you'll be useless to others.  Let me remind you of Psalm 139:14: “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” so that’s you!  Be loyal to God by answering that truth and saying, “Marvelous are Your works!” Staying in an abusive relationship doesn't prove your love for that person, but rather proves that you don't understand God's great value for you.  Unintentionally you’re saying, “God I love you but I’m disloyal to Your word and work.”  I know you don’t want to communicate that to Him.  
 
To fully understand your design, you must know that you are royalty.  1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”  Did you get that?  You can’t fully praise God without realizing that you’re chosen, royal, and holy in Him.  God wants loyalty, but the good stuff that comes out of the light, not out of the darkness He delivered you from.  God wants loyalty from royalty.  That’s you!  You can’t give what you don’t have, otherwise it’s dark, counterfeit.  Your identity determines what comes out of you.  Give God true praise!  Yes!  Loyalty from royalty is what the King of kings wants from you.  

Pray the Word:

Heavenly Father, Your word says clearly that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Forgive me for the times I’ve spoken something disloyal to You about my design.  I didn’t realize that it was such a dishonor to Your workmanship.  I should have been saying “Marvelous are Your works God!”  You have delivered me out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Your dear Son Jesus.  I am chosen by You to be royalty in the Name of King Jesus.  I am part of a holy nation in this Kingdom of Light and so I praise You and magnify Your name God.  Because I am born again of Your true love I know Your loyalty is within me.  Help me Holy Spirit to always be loyal to the crown of Jesus my King.  If there is only one thing to be said about me, let it be that I am loyal to the crown of Christ always.  In Jesus Name ... Amen!
 
P.S.  As a child of God you are precious and yes, you are royalty.  It’s a joy to celebrate God together.  We want to hear from you.  Please reach out on our website at livingroomchurch.org and let us know how we can pray for you specifically.  Your influence is important so tell a friend or a family member about the LRC free app.  That’s your assignment today.  We are so thankful for you!  Never forget, God loves you!