Loyalty and Bondservants

What do loyalty and bondservants have to do with each other? More than you might think. So what is loyalty? In the purest sense of the word and after much research, loyalty is a steadfast allegiance to a thing, idea, or person even in the face of great personal cost. In Daniel 3 we find a great story of loyalty. King Nebuchadnezzar commanded that a golden replica of him be made. He then gathered the elites around the statue, commanded them to worship and pay homage to the statue, or die. Three Jews refused to bow down, even with a second chance. Their reply can be found in Daniel 3:16-18. Notice that they didn’t need time to consider their answer and they had faith that God could deliver them if He so chose. Their attitude was that even if God were to allow them to die, they would not bow down and worship the statue. There was no hesitation even with their punishment staring them right in the face because their loyalty to God was ingrained into their being before they faced the test. They maintained their loyalty to God by being devout, righteous Jews not only during the times they were blessed in exile but even in the hardships of exile as well. So also, we need to develop our loyalty to God by walking with Him, by being transformed by Him in the times of blessing so that in the times of testing we know the answers before the answers are needed.



A bondservant in the Old Testament might be the ultimate expression of loyalty. In Deuteronomy 15:12-17 we read that Hebrew men and women were allowed to sell themselves into slavery, perhaps to pay off debts they could not otherwise pay or perhaps just to have food and a place to live. They had to be released in the 7th year with gifts of food and animals from their master. However, they could choose to stay a slave but at great cost. If the slave refused to go, an awl was used to pierce an ear and pin the person to the door. They then became a willing slave for life to that master and his family! They would never and could never be a free man or woman ever again under any circumstances. How many of us would be willing slaves to anyone for 6 years let alone be a willing slave for life? For Paul (Rom 1:1), James (James 1:1), Peter (2 Peter 1:1), John (Rev 1:1) and Jude (Jude 1) the answer was easy. These men realized that Christ had paid a debt so great they were willing to be slaves for life in appreciation for what He had done. Three of these men were martyrs, and the Romans tried to kill one by boiling him in oil and when that failed, exiled him to forced labor while he was at an advanced age. Two were the earthly half-brothers of Christ, and yet they wouldn’t even claim kinship with Christ but considered themselves to be slaves for life to Christ because of the price He had paid for their redemption. In Philippians 2:7 Paul even describes Christ as a bondservant! If Christ can be described as a bondservant, who are we to imagine that we should not also be bondservants? So to whom are we loyal? Do we have a steadfast allegiance to God that is so ingrained in our being that when hardship and fierce tests come we will stand firm in the faith? Can we say with Paul, James, John, Peter and Jude that we are the willing life long slaves of Christ, giving up all our “rights”? Are we willing slaves to something or someone other than Christ? Are we trying to be slaves on our own terms with half-hearted loyalty to Christ? Wow, those are searching maybe even searing questions, but in view of our great salvation, the price paid, the debt we owe that can never be repaid what really should our answer be?