Disloyalty

        Disloyalty is a quality of bitterness that can affect the lives of many people involved in a situation.  It will cause pain and offense between all involved, and the resulting consequences are not to be desired.  This makes it very important to understand the four progressive inward attitudes and outward actions that make up the path to disloyalty.

        A person takes his first step towards disloyalty when he is offended and fails to accept the grace God gives him to forgive his offender.  The offended takes up an independent spirit towards his offender and begins to outwardly express himself listing his rights, having higher expectations towards others, and using people for his own ambitions.  This is the natural tendency that is spoken of in Philippians 2:20-21: 

For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.  For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's.

Unfortunately, when this is done, he can no longer love everyone with God’s love, and will be in deliberate contradiction with God by hating his fellow man.  Jesus expressed the importance of not hating your fellow man in Luke 14:26 when He said, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”

            The second step towards disloyalty happens when an individual develops a wounded spirit towards his offender.  This inward attitude will be shown through his outward expressions of distrust and apathy for others, the need for detailed instructions to properly fulfill a task, the lack of following through on projects, and conflicts within his priorities.  When this step is taken, this individual will not be following the command that Paul gave the Colossians in Colossians 3:23-24: 

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

As this attitude of rebellion is shown, an individual will lose his relationship with the Lord and will be unable to abide in Him as is commanded of us in 1 Corinthians 7:24:  “Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.”

            The third step towards disloyalty is taken when the offended becomes alert to discontent in others towards the offender.  When he reaches this point, he becomes excited in listening to bad reports, takes up offenses against the offender for others, and sympathizes and encourages discontent from others towards the offender.  These outward expressions display the true inward feelings in that the offended is specifically looking for faults in the offender’s life.  Jesus warns of drastic consequences for these attitudes however.  Matthew 12:25 says:

And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

Paul was fully aware of the dangerous aspects of this disunity among brethren when he wrote to the Philippians.  In chapter 1 verse 27 of this letter, he exhorts the people: 

Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

            The final step that is made in becoming disloyal is taking on a harshly judgmental attitude.  The inward attitude of a judgmental spirit is demonstrated through the outward actions of developing magnified reports of discontent and having an inability to restore an offender.  A judgmental person will find all the small failures of his offender and will magnify them to an unrealistic level so as to hurt the reputation of the individual.  This attitude is in direct violation to the command of Galatians 6:1, which reads: 

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Restoring our offenders should be of utmost importance to us.  Through this, we will be displaying a sincere love towards them and will be able to properly restore them within the body of Christ.  Then, we will be able to rejoice and give thanks to the Lord for a restored brother as is spoken of in Colossians 3:16-17: