Comments on: Loyalty vs. Integrity

By: Lee Mowat

Lee Mowat — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:34:08 +0000

There is a story which is used to describe the Gospel of Christ in a supposed simpler sense, however though I will briefly write it, my intention is to lay forth an opinion from it that answers your question.
In a land far away there was a King.
The King was unlike most Kings, for this King loved justice.
One day the son of this King was brought before him in chains, the son had stole a great sum of money.
Now although the King was a judge-he was also a loving Father, yet the King ordered the Son to pay back the amount the son had stolen, plus as punishment 6 times more the amount.
The King knew his son could not pay such a sum, and the King continued to say if the son did not pay the amount within 7 days, that the son would be imprisoned for life.

Justice having been delt, the King removed his crown and robe, and as a loving Father went and payed the price for his son.
Obviously the son had the choice wether to accept the payment or not.

What I would like to point out from this story is that the King did not compromise Justice or love.
He fullfilled both.
The King though being a Father at some point could not be a Father, and at the same time though being a Father- didn’t compromise being Just.
There is a time for everything and for everything there is a time.
If we are “just” then we must be “just” 100%
If we are loving parents then we must be 100%
If we are loyal to God then we will be loyal to the children he has given us.
If we are loyal to God we must put our loyality to him above them to teach them loyality to God.
Time is the key here, sometimes you don’t have the opportunity to be merciful or kind or loving, you may be called in a moment to be a just judge or a restrainer.

By: Integrity and loyalty « The NewAlbanist

Integrity and loyalty « The NewAlbanist — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 22:30:22 +0000

[...] Just in case you’re interested, here’s the link to Parchment & Pen. [...]

By: Luis

Luis — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:09:35 +0000

Integrity and Loyalty did clash in the example of king David and Uriah the Hittite.

King David’s adulterous sin with the wife of Uriah is well-known. He not only committed adultery with her but also launched an elaborate cover-up when she became pregnant. The king gave Uriah a leave of absence from the war, expecting him to go to his house and have intercourse with his wife. But, out of respect for his fellow soldiers at the battlefront, Uriah declined. David then invited him to eat and got him drunk, but Uriah still did not go in to his wife. David then sent a message to his general to put Uriah in the thick of the fighting in order to get Uriah killed, which is what happened.—2 Samuel 11:2-25.

This man’s integrity did not allow him to go and be with his wife, even though his loyalty to the King should have moved him to do so.

By: Loyalty vs. Integrity » Christian Comedians Marty Daniels

Loyalty vs. Integrity » Christian Comedians Marty Daniels — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 00:31:08 +0000

[...] sang a song about it a million years ago. This article from Reclaiming the Mind is a great reminder.read more | digg [...]

By: tiz

tiz — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 23:10:57 +0000

What a great question! I think its a deep one, a toughie.

It seems to make sense to say that you ought to maintain loyalty as long as it doesn’t compromise your integrity. But wouldn’t the exception to that be loyalty to God over integrity? Why the exception? Because integrity itself is an adherence to a moral law, but what law is that? It’s God’s moral law; by having integrity you are really trying to adhere to God’s moral law. So, is loyalty, when directed at God, the same as integrity? Well, maybe, though that kind of feels like reducing a relationship with the living God to the reading of a code book.

So, what about Abraham? Didn’t he demonstrate loyalty to God over integrity by obeying God’s command to kill his son (even though he was stopped)? Should Abraham have trusted his own understanding of morality and integrity and told God, “No way, pyscho, I’m not killing an innocent!”? Certainly Abraham’s loyalty to God overrode his loyalty to his son, but didn’t it also override his integrity?

So, it would seem loyalty to God should trump all other loyalties, plus our possibly imperfect integrity since God is the true source of perfect integrity. We should trust that God knows His moral law better that we do. But would that really fly? Wouldn’t an Abraham situation get you 100 years in the electric chair? Should another person believe you when you say that God told you, so therefore it’s the right thing? Would you believe your own ears if you heard God tell you to kill your own son? I suppose you’d have to first trust that you can hear God, and then trust that if God told you to do something you identify as compromising your integrity He’d stop you if it was really wrong.

Anyway, I suppose this could continue to spiral down a path of questions, but it’s interesting to think about! Loyalty or integrity?

Great post, Ruth!

By: Chad Winters

Chad Winters — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 18:08:01 +0000

I would think that the times when Jesus said we should leave our father and mother to follow him and that anyone who does not hate his wife, son, father, mother in comparison to love for him is not a believer would mean that integrity would beat loyalty to family.

26″If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sistersâ€”yes, even his own lifeâ€”he cannot be my disciple.

I’m not sure it really applies, but it came to mind