8:00AM: Vanguard Scouting (LDS) Daily Devotions

Thursday, 07/20: Loyal

Scripture

Job 23:11 – “My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside.”

Thought for the Day

Loyalty is more complicated than it seems on the surface. It can apply to a country, an organization, a school, a church, your unit, or your patrol. On an individual basis, loyalty describes an ideal bond held by two friends. You are probably familiar with the saying, “I’ve got your back.” True and meaningful loyalty goes way beyond this. Covering for someone else’s mistakes or wrongdoing, even if he or she is a good friend is not loyalty. Loyalty is better expressed by the saying, “I’ll be there for you.” Mistakes have consequences, but a loyal friend is there to help walk their friend through those consequences. A loyal friend is one you could call at 2:30 in the morning to help you work something out or just talk through a serious problem. A loyal friend will not abandon his or her friend in times of trouble and will give them the benefit of the doubt when there is conflict.

Loyalty is a two-way street, and it won’t always be easy. In today’s Scripture passage, Job is explaining to his snarky friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar that he remained loyal to God despite a lot of bad things that had happened to him. His friends claimed God did those things because Job had sinned and had not confessed his sin to God. Despite his confusion over what had happened (and a lot, had happened to poor Job) Job’s loyalty to God never wavered. He “held fast to God’s path, kept His way and not turned aside.” Job, by faith, knew God would never leave, nor forsake him. Job’s faith told him though there would always be trouble in the world, God would loyally go in and through the trouble with him. God was in the lion’s den with Daniel. God was in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. God went through the valley of the shadow of death with David. Loyalty will make demands on you, but the measure of your loyalty will be how well you meet those demands to walk alongside your friend.

Questions for Discussion

• “Social media” was promoted as a tool to bring people together, but people today have fewer genuinely close and loyal friends than at any time in our recent history. Who can you count among your closest and most loyal friends?
• How do you demonstrate your loyalty to Scouting in your school and/or social context?

Prayer

Good and gracious God, teach me, I pray, to be a loyal friend. Allow me to be the one who others can count on in good times and in bad. Use me to inspire loyalty in others. A Scout is loyal. Amen.