04/27/2008: "Where Loyalty Lies"
- Proverbs 3:3.
There was a saying by Walter Winchell that said "a real friend walks in when the rest of the world walks out." My question to you today is are you a real friend? How often have you passed by people making fun of God or the bible and have either slinked by to avoid confrontation from those people or joined in the bashing because it was the thing to do? Or how often have you come upon someone in need, whether they needed change to make a phone call or needed a couple of bucks for some food or something warm to fight off the cold? So many different scenarios displayed and in so many ways, we find ourselves walking out on what we know is right and true according to His word.
How often is it that we prove ourselves unworthy to be friends of God and of His word? Would you trade the friendship that Jesus offers for acceptance among your peers? There are so many questions we can ask ourselves referring to this but there's only one place you can pledge your loyalty at a time. I know it is also often said among many sermons I have attended: You're either serving God or you're serving the devil; if you're not serving God, then who are you serving? When I first heard that question, I remember thinking how quaint and boring the quote was. It was like,"We're not kids. Why are you telling us this is we already know it by heart?"
Jeremiah 9 says "friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth... you live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me." The real question of today's message is what kind of friend are you? Do you know where your true loyalty lies? Again, it's said best that a "real friend walks in when the rest of the world walks out." From my own experience, I know that God is always there when I need Him. It has taken a while for me to discover where my own loyalty is and an even longer while to really be true to the path I had chose for myself. I want to be that "real friend" who continues walking in when trouble is abound and everyone else has had enough or is too scared to press forth. Loyalty isn't something for the faint of heart. It takes true courage to follow in what you believe is right.