Loyalty

When it comes to the ultimate test of devotion, fewer than half of Americans would give a piece of themselves to save someone they care about. A revealing new survey has found that just 39% of Americans would be willing to donate an organ to family or friends—a striking discovery that sheds light on where people draw the boundary of personal sacrifice.

The study of 2,000 U.S. adults, explored various dimensions of loyalty in both personal relationships and consumer behavior. While organ donation may be a step too far for many, Americans demonstrate commitment in other meaningful ways.

More than half (53%) would endure waiting in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles for someone they care about. Additionally, 62% would put their reputation on the line by acting as a reference for a loved one’s apartment or job application.

Perhaps the most revealing statistic is how Americans would handle unexpected good fortune. An overwhelming 82% said they would share a windfall of $100,000 with family and friends—indicating that while many might hesitate to share their kidneys, they’re quite willing to share their cash.

Possible Preaching Angle:

1) Selfishness; Self-centeredness – It is amazing how selfish people are becoming when called to make a very personal sacrifice for their very “flesh and blood” relatives; 2) Christ, sacrifice of – This also highlights the amazing sacrifice Jesus made for his “brothers and sisters” when he said “Take and eat. This is my body” (Matt. 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24) and “he himself bore our sins in His body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24).

Training for a marathon is one of the most physically demanding activities you can willingly put yourself through. And when race day finally comes—after months of training and hours spent pounding the pavement—you want to finish the race strong. But sometimes, that just doesn’t happen.

A runner at the 2023 London Marathon experienced this as he worked his way towards the end of the race. In a short video shared on Reddit, a man in a black cap begins to double over and is on the verge of collapsing as other participants whizz by. But before he falls to the ground, another runner comes from behind him and grabs his arm. He’s able to hold the runner steady enough to keep going. Shortly after, another person appears on the man’s other side. Together, the three runners make their way to the finish line.

It’s unclear if the men knew each prior to the race. But when it comes to marathons, finishing with a fast time is only one component. The camaraderie—knowing thousands of other people are doing the same thing as you—is part of what makes the experience so special. And helping someone in need? Even better. Though the three guys didn’t finish first, they won that day.

You can watch the 16-second video here.

Possible Preaching Angles:

(1) Community, Encouragement, Body of Christ—With our weaknesses and frailties, we all need the support of an encouraging community that will run beside us during the long journey of life. (2) Holy Spirit—This story also beautifully illustrates the presence of the Holy Spirit, the One called to be beside us, our Paraclete.

The podcast, “The Agent,” tells the story of Jack Barsky, a Soviet-era KGB secret agent embedded in the US, beginning in the 1970s. Gradually, his loyalties shifted and in a remarkable turn of events, the FBI actually eventually helped him to secure US citizenship.

Near the end of the podcast he says,

I had a home again, an official home. … I’d put East Germany out of my mind. I stopped thinking about the folks back there. ... I put it away and put it in a part of my brain that I didn’t want to access anymore. You always want to belong to something. This is one of the basic things that make us human. … Now I had a country again. That felt really good.

You can listen to the podcast here.

Possible Preaching Angle:

The Christian's change of citizenship is far more dramatic, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, thanks to Christ Jesus, our King.

While most high school athletes have their family cheering for them on the sidelines, Susan Bergeman’s brother, Jeffrey, is there every step of the way during her 3.1-mile cross country races. For every practice and meet, Susan, 14, runs while pushing Jeffrey, 15, in his wheelchair.

When he was 22 months old, Jeffrey went into sudden cardiac arrest, which led to severe brain damage and a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. It was important to Susan that she find a way to get her brother involved in an activity at their high school, and cross country made sense. She said, "He loves running. I think it helps me get even closer to my brother." When it gets hard running with Jeffrey uphill or over uneven terrain, Susan said she will "push away the pain and focus on him enjoying it.” She added that "hearing everyone screaming and cheering gives me a big adrenaline rush."

You can watch the touching video here.

Author Jake Meador writes:

Love also must be faithful because when we love we do not simply will the person’s good a single time and then stop. We see this in marriage and parenting, of course, but friendship should be faithful as well. In the aftermath of my father’s injury, one of the qualities we most appreciated in many of my parents’ friends was their fidelity. One woman from the church is still mowing their yard once a week over three years after Dad’s injury. We could depend on them not simply on the day of the injury but a month later, a year later, three years later.

In Greek mythology, ancient sailors faced many dangers at sea. One of the most unusual was that of the sirens who used their mesmerizing songs to lure sailors to their deaths on the rocky shore. Two famous Greeks were able to sail by them successfully.

One was Odysseus, who stopped up the ears of his men with wax and then had his men tie him to the ship’s mast. This way his men were safe, and he was able to hear the siren’s sweet song with relatively little harm.

The other was the legendary Orpheus who was sailing with Jason and the Argonauts. As they approached the sirens and began to hear the siren’s voices drift across the water, Orpheus took out his lyre and began to sing an even more charming melody to the men.

Orpheus, not Odysseus, represents the success we want. We can pass some tests by restricting our bodies (be tied to a mast) or limiting our access to temptation (fill our ears with wax). But in the end, the holy desires of our heart must rise and conquer. The desire to love and follow Jesus must be a sweeter song to us than the music of the world and our flesh.

What does it take to raise children who will continue in the faith as adults? A study from the Barna Group set out to study what they call “resilient disciples,” that is, 18-29-year olds who attend church regularly, trust in the Bible, are personally committed to Jesus, and with a desire to influence broader society.

They found that “resilient disciples” make up only 10% of young people who grew up Christian. Another 38% attend church regularly, but do not meet core beliefs and behaviors associated with being an engaged disciple. 30% identify as Christian, but no longer attend church, and 22% have left the faith altogether.

Here are the five traits of a “resilient disciple”:

1. They experience intimacy with Jesus

2. They practice cultural discernment

3. They have meaningful spiritual relationships

4. They engage in counter-cultural mission

5. They have a sense of calling in their life and work

Aaron Smith was tired of the typical online dating scene. But unlike most people with that same sense of dissatisfaction, he took a unique course of action. Smith reached out to software engineering friend Scott McDowell, who helped to develop a new dating app entitled Singularity. It’s tagline? “Online Dating Simplified.”

Smith said, “The biggest problem with other apps is that my face isn’t featured prominently.” He went on to explain the app’s killer feature--the lack of other male competition. He’s the only one on the app, and as users swipe for more options, they get a variety of different pictures of Smith in different outfits and locations. He said, “If life gives you lemons, you should first make lemonade. Then make sure no other companies can produce or distribute their own soft drinks. So, the only game in town is lemonade.”

Smith has yet to meet that special someone, but he remains upbeat and optimistic. He said, “Hopefully it will give people a chuckle about just the absurdity of what we’re reduced to as a society.”

Potential Preaching Angles: God isn’t insecure, but is jealous over our devotion. God wants to be our number one priority, and sometimes will remove distractions that get in the way.

In his book, Chuck Bentley writes:

There's a name for God that we seldom ever use. I know I don't use it very often. That name is Jealous. Sounds strange, doesn't it? When we call someone jealous, it’s usually to point out a character flaw. How can something we consider bad be attributed to God, especially one of his names? “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14).

Back in the late 1960s, there was a popular TV western series called The Guns of Will Sonnet. Walter Brennan played the title role, a Scripture-quoting man with a reputation for unparalleled gun fighting skills. As the series progressed, viewers saw the wise old man avoid more gunfights than he got into the simple, truthful statement about his abilities: “No brag, just fact.”

God has the title of Jealous because he’s the only one worthy of all our affection and adoration. No brag, just fact. The complete worthiness of ultimate praise grants him and him alone the right to be the Jealous One. He’s God Almighty. He’s at the top of all Kings, all Lords, all gods, and all things. So jealousy is normative, if you’re God.

In their book Known, Dick and Ruth Foth tell a poignant story of devotion and loyalty:

Edinburgh, Scotland, is famous for a story of a dog and his owner that express devotion and tenacity in equal measure. The story began in 1850, when John Gray came to the city to be a gardener. Unable to find work, he joined the police force as a night watchmen. To keep him company through the long nights, he would take his small Skye terrier named Bobby with him on his rounds. They became part of the living landscape of the city night after night for years.

John later contracted tuberculosis and died in the winter of 1858; he was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. What happened next became legend in the city. Bobby, the Skye terrier, would not leave his master's grave. Except for accepting midday meals from the kind people in the area, Bobby stayed there day and night with his master. The caretaker tried on many occasions to evict the dog, but to no avail. Finally, he provided the little dog with a shelter by the grave.

When the city passed an ordinance that all unlicensed dogs would be destroyed, the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, William Chambers, purchased a license for Bobby and had a collar engraved for the little dog. Until his death fourteen years later, the citizens cared for Bobby while he guarded his master's body. If you walk to Greyfriars Kirkyard today, you can't miss the statue that stands across the street. It is a sculpture of Bobby with these words inscribed on the base:

Greyfriars Bobby—died 14th January 1872—aged 16 years. Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all.

"In Mexico they wanted to be my friends because they wanted to do missions to me, but when I moved to the United States no one wanted to be my friend."

Testimony from a Mexican student who came to study in the U.S. after having received many short-term mission trips from American church groups.

Toward the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, there's a scene where Harry, Ron, and Hermione are about to break the rules and leave their dormitory after-hours to stop the bad guy from stealing a powerful magic artifact. Before they leave, though, they must face none other than Neville Longbottom, a rather bumbling, ineffective student in their class. "You're sneaking out again, aren't you?" Neville asks. "I won't let you. You'll get [our classmates] into trouble again." He fails to stop them, and Harry and his friends manage to stop the villain. But, surprisingly, at the end of the year banquet, headmaster Dumbledore gives the greatest honor to Neville. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies," he explains, "but just as much to stand up to our friends."

Although Neville never becomes truly close with Harry, Ron, or Hermione, he still stumbled across two of the key traits of a friend or an accountability partner: the ability to recognize patterns of sinful behavior, and the courage to call the person out on them.

You've probably heard the story, but in a security breach in Washington, D.C. a man jumped the fence that surrounds the White House and sprinted through the main floor of the building. He could have caused much greater commotion but he was stopped by an off-duty Secret Service agent who was leaving for the night. The intruder was tackled outside of the Green Room by the agent. One person said, "There's no telling how long this guy could have run around if the detail guy hadn't happened to be there."

Possible Preaching Angle:

This is a good reminder that we are always "on-duty" in God's service. Even if you feel like you're not on right now—keep your eyes peeled. You never know when you may be needed.

Depending on your age, you may remember Batman the comic book, or Batman and Robin the TV show, or Batman & Robin, the 1997 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Gough, or The Dark Knight Rises, the film starring Christian Bale and Michael Cain, or The Batmanm, the 2012 film starring Robert Pattinson and Andy Serkis. But no matter where you encounter this superhero, you'll also find Alfred Pennyworth—Bruce Wayne's loyal and tireless butler, valet, friend, and father figure.

While Batman is fighting dastardly enemies, he knows that back at Wayne Manor resides someone who's taking care of everything else, someone he can trust to keep all his secrets, who cares about him as much as any father, and who—through his quiet service—makes it possible for Batman to do what he does.

Resourceful and calm, Alfred may not be the one having the exciting adventures, but he is a vital part of Wayne's life, with skills as varied as maintaining the bat-mobile, building the bat-computer, and keeping the Caped Crusader's costume in pristine condition. Alfred also provides first aid, including removing bullets, so Batman doesn't have to go to the hospital when he's injured.

Depending on which Batman version you follow, Alfred has also mastered rose breeding (even creating his own, the "Pennyworth Blue"), computer programming, computer engineering, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, nanotechnology, and biotechnology, as he singlehandedly builds programs and maintains much of Batman's next-generational technology.

More than 37,000 runners competed in the 2012 London Marathon. Wilson Kipsang, from Kenya, won the race in an impressive 2:04:44. Simone Clarke took more than three times as long, but her finish may be more impressive.

Simone is a 39 year old epileptic. Simone suffers about four seizures a day, and needed someone willing to train and run with her. Her friend, Tally Hall, agreed to run the marathon with her and help her if she had a seizure while running. But none of their training runs prepared them for what was to come.

On the beautiful spring morning of the London Marathon, Simone and Tally joined the tens of thousands at the starting point, and took off as the gun sounded. For the first seven miles, everything went well.

It was at mile eight that pain from an ongoing stomach problem triggered Simone's first seizure. Tally caught Simone and got her safely to the ground. Simone was completely unconscious for 30 seconds before Tally could rouse her.

And then, remarkably, Simone woke, got up, and started running again.

Over the next 18 miles, Simone had 19 more seizures, each time collapsing and losing consciousness for 30 seconds or more. Each time, Tally caught her, eased her to the ground, and protected her until she regained consciousness. And each time, Tally helped Simone up, and they continued.

'By the time we got to 15 miles," Simone said afterward, "I was in tears because I was so annoyed we had lost the pace. But by that stage I had already had lots of (seizures), and I was still standing, so I thought, stuff it, I'm just going to finish it."

Simone and Tally crossed the finish line in 6½ hours. Considering the day, it was a time even the Kenyans would be proud of.

Preaching Angles: (1) Community, Encouragement, Body of Christ—With our weaknesses and frailties, we all need the support of an encouraging community that will run beside us during the long journey of life. (2) Holy Spirit—this story also beautifully illustrates the presence of the Holy Spirit, the One called to be beside us, our Paraclete.

The African-American preacher E. V. Hill told the following story about a positive encounter with a white Christian leader. Hill writes:

As a freshman at Prairie View College, a part of the Texas A&M system, I was actively involved in the Baptist Student Union. [Our denomination's annual convention] for blacks, held in Nashville, Tennessee, was a highlight of the year. Much to my pleasure, I was one of two students selected to go. White students had raised the money. That was okay with me, as I viewed it as an act of pity on their part … or at best a chance to ease their guilty conscience. But then real trouble began!

The trip through the South was by car—three whites and two [blacks] traveling together. I had no idea how we'd eat or how we'd sleep. So great was my anxiety and hatred over how the trip might turn out that I almost backed out entirely …. In all my experience I had never seen a white man stand up for a black man and never felt I would.

But then Dr. Howard, the director of our trip and a white man spoke up. "We'll be traveling together," he said. "If there isn't a place where all of us can eat—none of us will eat. If there's not a place all of us can sleep—none of us will sleep."

That was all he said, but it was enough! For the first time in my life I had met a white man who was Christian enough to take a stand with a Christian black man.

In 1970, while Bob Russell (not the same Bob Russell who served as minister of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville) was a graduate student at Temple University in Philadelphia, his 1967 Austin Healey sports car was stolen. Over the years, Russell kept the original title to the car and the keys, and he memorized the vehicle identification number.

During a sleepless night on May 11, 2012, Russell got out of bed and began surfing the internet. While browsing eBay, he saw his old car for sale. After contacting the seller, getting a copy of the old police report through the National Crime Information Center, securing the assistance of the Philadelphia Police Department, and haggling with the seller over the buy-back price, Bob Russell and his wife Cynthia (who had gone on their first dates together in that car over forty years earlier), flew to California and took back ownership of the car on June 18, 2012.

Though the VIN plate had been removed, and the glove box lock had been broken, and the lock to the trunk was missing, he was delighted to get his car back. Russell commented, "When it was stolen it was pristine; now it's going to need a lot of work. On the other hand, it's been more than 40 years. It's very gratifying to get it back."

Possible Preaching Angle: If Bob Russell could have been so devoted to a car, even keeping the title and keys and memorizing the VIN number, how much more can we be certain that Jesus is devoted to seeking and saving the lost.

In his book Bad Religion, Ross Douthat argues that as families have weakened and true friendships have waned, we have tried to fill the vacuum by relying on professional caregivers. Obviously, many of these professionals truly care about their clients, but this trend also indicates a deeper problem. Douthat writes:

As [the philosopher] Ronald Dworkin pointed out … the United States has witnessed a hundredfold increase in the number of professional caregivers since 1950. As of 2023, our society boasts 71,700 clinical psychologists, 728,000 clinical social workers, 388,200 mental health counselors, 71,200 marriage and family therapists, 34,200 life coaches—and hundreds of thousands of nonclinical social workers and substance abuse counselors as well. "Most of these professionals spend their days helping people cope with everyday life problems," Dworkin writes, "not true mental illness." This means that "under our very noses a revolution has occurred in the personal dimension of life, such that millions of Americans must now pay professionals to listen to their everyday life problems."

Douthat concludes: "The result is a nation where gurus and therapists have filled the roles once occupied by spouses and friends."

Before serving as a Methodist minister from 2000 to 2010 near Nashville, Tennessee, John M. Eades spent two decades as a therapist counseling drug and alcohol addicts. But his professional expertise did not prevent his descent into compulsive gambling.

His downfall began when some friends pestered him into accompanying them to a casino. Although Eades had never been a gambler, the urge to play the slot machines that was sparked that night escalated into daily casino visits.

"I went every afternoon after work and stayed until late, and I'd go every weekend," recalls Eades, 68. Missing church was no concern. At the time, Eades only attended sporadically.

Within two years, he had maxed out 17 credit cards and amassed $245,000 in gambling debts. One night, driving home from the casino, Eades decided to kill himself. He pulled over at a rest stop and reached into the glove compartment for his .357 Magnum. The gun was gone. Upon reaching home, Eades hugged his wife, Karen, and thanked her for saving his life by hiding the weapon. But he was in for another surprise.

"I didn't take the gun to save your life," Karen told him. "I sold it so we could pay the electric bill."

Soon, the economic strain became too much for Karen. She swallowed an entire bottle of pills in front of her husband. After getting his wife's stomach pumped at a hospital, Eades tried to escape his own depression by going off to gamble.

Later, in a drastic step to remove temptation, Eades moved to a Tennessee town 300 miles away from the nearest casino. He agreed to Karen's request that they attend church regularly. Yet Eades secretly started stashing money in his car trunk for a planned trip to a Mississippi casino.

Another suicide attempt, this time by his 27-year-old daughter, Ginger, over a failed relationship, finally prompted Eades to change …. He opened his car trunk and gave the $600 he had saved for gambling to his wife.

Today Eades is in recovery and marvels at the power the addiction had over his life. "When you're in an addiction and you look back, it's just like you were an insane person," says Eades …. "You cannot believe the things you did."

Eades says there can be no removal of addictive desires or recovery without God's intervention. He also credits Karen, his wife of 48 years.

"When you're [an addict] you really want people to leave you alone so you can feel sorry for yourself and keep [up your addiction]," Eades says. "It's very important to have [someone] who loves you enough to stay with you through it."