Loyalty

The elder statesman of Texas stumped the state to the point of exhaustion with this message: “The destruction of the Union would be the destruction of all the states.”

Shunned by young hotheads eager for war and dismissed by a new generation, Houston’s pleas for national loyalty were ignored.

If Texas had listened, tragedy might have been averted. The refusal of Texas to join the Confederacy might well have dissuaded other states, and the bloodiest nightmare in American history might have been avoided.

Unfortunately, Houston’s cry to remain in the Union was rejected. Houston, now fatigued and discouraged, must have sensed he was failing physically as well as politically.

“I wish if this Union must be dissolved, that its ruins may be the monument of my grave, and the graves of my family. I wish no epitaph to be written to tell that I survived the ruin of this glorious Union.”

Pressure mounted on the old warrior to take the oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, but Houston’s loyalty held. He refused, knowing that it meant the certain end of his political career in the South and the ostracism of his family.

For Houston, loyalty to his nation was stronger than any hope of a political future. He steadfastly refused the oath.

“In the name of the Constitution of Texas, which has been trampled upon, I refuse to take this oath. I love Texas too well to bring civil strife and bloodshed upon her.”

He saw the beginning of the bloodshed he prophesied, but he did not survive to see its conclusion. Houston was hurt by the rejection of his leadership, deeply saddened by the horrible Civil War, but unaltered in his devotion to this nation.

Sam Houston was a Texan, the Texan, but he was, above all things, a loyal American.

Loyalty is the very fabric of community. Devoid of basic trust in some kind of mutuality of commitment, relationships cannot prosper.

When loyalty is lost, the very fabric of relationship unravels. Even the disloyal depend on someone else’s loyalty. The philandering husband will bitterly resent his accountant’s embezzlement. The bribed politician howls over his wife’s adultery. The issue is not merely hypocrisy; it is a failure to comprehend the very nature of the virtue of loyalty.

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No one can translate into relationships a virtue that is fundamentally misunderstood. No society can expect loyalty to anchor its relationships once treachery becomes admirable.

Life without loyalty is fragile in the jungle of betrayal.

If loyalty is understood only in terms of isolated relationships, disillusionment and bitterness are inescapable. That is to say, a disloyal man is disloyal in his character rather than in respect to particular relationships.

Loyalty is the willingness, because of relational commitment, to deflect praise, admiration and success onto another.

This loyalty may well be at great personal expense, but it will edify and bless its object. It never usurps authority. It refuses to accept inappropriate love or praise that might properly exalt another.

Loyalty is the glue that holds relationships together, makes families functional and armies victorious. Loyalty is the fabric of the society.

I will conclude with this: “God demands full loyalty from His children – submit to His ordinances and you’ll be glad you did.”