Loyalty to God instead of idols

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Idols are earthly things that people worship and that determine their lives and actions. Only through experience with the one true and living God can people recognize this difference and give their lives a new direction. This experience is particularly evident in faithfulness to God.

Faithfulness to God protects people from false pursuits and the pursuit of vain things. The Duden dictionary defines the adjective "faithful" as reliable, steadfast, devoted, and devout. In this sense, faithfulness to God should be seen as a characteristic of a life without idols, but with God.

Examples from the Bible

When people talk about fidelity today, they often think first of marital fidelity, meaning spouses who neither cheat on nor abandon each other. But fidelity is much more than that. Looking at various examples in the Bible, it becomes clear that fidelity as a quality is described in a much more profound way than the example of marital fidelity would suggest.

Abraham was a faithful servant of God. No one would dispute that. But what was so special about Abraham's relationship with God? In Genesis 15:6 we read: "And [Abram] believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." Abraham believed what God told him. For Abraham, God was the highest priority. When God gave him the promise that He would make him into a great nation, he was childless. It is clear from the descriptions in the Bible that it was not easy for Abraham to hold fast to this promise. In Genesis 17, when Abraham was 99 years old, God repeated His promise.

Twenty-four years had now passed since God had first given him the promise. For Abraham, this repeated promise seemed unbelievable (see Genesis 17:17). He found it difficult to believe. And yet he held fast to God. In the same chapter, God made the covenant of circumcision with him, which Abraham faithfully and precisely fulfilled. Abraham held fast to God, even though he could not understand and comprehend everything.

As his life progresses, we see how God's promise begins to bear its first visible fruit. After 25 years of waiting, Abraham has a son. Now, one might think that the long test of faith in Abraham's life is over. But that is far from the truth. In chapter 22, God asks Abraham to sacrifice his long-awaited son Isaac. An incredible demand, one that would surely nullify God's promise. But what is unthinkable for humans is possible for God. Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son. All the misgivings he surely had did not deter him from obeying God. God tested Abraham to see if he would hold fast to Him and His word unconditionally. Abraham obeyed God in a demand that, according to human understanding, was impossible, and in doing so, he proved his faithfulness to the Lord to the utmost.

After God led the people of Israel out of Egypt, He gave Moses the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. The first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before me," clearly demonstrates the demands God places on humanity regarding their relationship with Him. God requires absolute and exclusive devotion and tolerates nothing that questions or replaces Him.

As another example from the Bible, let us consider Daniel. What is particularly striking about this example is that Daniel was still a young man when he was called to the court of King Nebuchadnezzar. Right at the beginning of his time with Nebuchadnezzar, he resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and drink (see Daniel 1:8). This plan was not easy to put into practice, however, as he was supervised by the king's eunuch and urged to comply. Daniel stood up for his plan and had no qualms about discussing it with the chief eunuch. The agreement to try it for ten days was certainly a risky undertaking, one that would lead to his disapproval by the king, and required courage and determination.

This incident reveals a loyalty that, at first glance, doesn't seem particularly remarkable, since it "only" concerns food and drink. However, upon closer examination, one realizes that this resolve was a defining characteristic of Daniel's life. Loyalty, as a children's song says, begins with small things. And this is especially evident here. Even the fact that Daniel forwent the royal feast, which was certainly not unappealing in terms of quantity and taste, demonstrates how selflessly he acted in small matters. Loyalty also means being able to do without, and that, as already mentioned, begins with small things.

God blessed Daniel (see verses 17 and 20) in a special way. This primarily demonstrated God's response to the young man's faithfulness. God rewards faithfulness. But God also wanted to use him further and demanded even greater faithfulness from him.

Later in his life, Daniel's faithfulness was put to a very challenging test (see chapter 6). Out of envy, the princes and governors plotted how they could find something wrong against Daniel. "But they could find no wrong or wrongdoing, for he was faithful, so that no guilt or wrongdoing could be found in him," as we read in verse 5. Here we see very clearly that faithfulness to God was also evident in his relationships with his fellow human beings, as long as it did not contradict God's will. Nothing bad could be said about Daniel. He was not only blameless before God, but also before people.

So a law had to be enacted that went against God's will. The commandment, "Anyone who asks anything from any god or man, except you, O king, within thirty days, shall be thrown into the lions' den," presented Daniel with a particular test of faith, in which his loyalty was truly to be demonstrated. If one tries to put oneself in such a situation and imagine a similar scenario in our time, one truly becomes aware of the far-reaching consequences of deciding against the king's commandment and thus choosing loyalty to God. Such circumstances were a reality for most of our ancestors. And here Daniel's fundamental attitude toward God becomes very clear. What he lived out in small ways was also reflected in great things.

In such a situation, one's own life on this earth must mean nothing. In such a situation, one must be ready and longing to encounter God. And ultimately, in such a situation, personal experience with the one true and living God is revealed. And indeed, God allowed Daniel to be thrown into the lions' den. A faithful servant of God ended up in the lions' den. But nothing happens without God's will. God showed himself to Daniel's adversaries with a mighty hand and preserved him in the lions' den. God did not protect Daniel from the danger, but from the danger. At this point, I would like to note that it doesn't always have to be this way. In many events in the Bible and true stories about Christians who had to suffer for their faith in God, we see how faithfulness also had to be paid for with earthly life.

God demands absolute and exclusive devotion and tolerates nothing that questions or replaces Him.

In the 12th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus asks the following question: “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their food at the proper time?” Jesus then describes a servant who faithfully performs his duties in his master’s absence. This servant is the one who truly deserves the title “faithful.” He lives for his master by doing what he has been told. It doesn’t matter to him whether his master is watching him or not, or whether the performance of his duties is particularly important or goes unnoticed. There is nothing that distracts this servant from his service. This servant represents a true Christian—a person who is always ready to meet his master without fear of reproach.

A person who, regardless of their circumstances, does the will of their God out of deep conviction. As a counter-example, a servant is described who, precisely because of his master's absence, does not consider faithfulness in his service necessary and acts according to his own whims. Thus, there are many other things that determine his life and prevent him from serving his master.

In contemporary terms, one could describe this as a Christian who doesn't particularly care about his Lord's will, even though he outwardly wants to do it formally. As soon as he feels unobserved, this person leads a worldly life, according to his own desires. Jesus warns against such a life: "Then the master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not think about" (cf. verse 46). Faithfulness, therefore, is also demonstrated through steadfastness and vigilance.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus speaks of the "Ten Virgins" in the parable mentioned above (cf. Mt 25:1-13). This parable vividly illustrates how faithfulness, in the sense of vigilance and steadfastness, can manifest in the life of a Christian. At first glance, the ten virgins appeared to be all the same. However, the difference lies in the details. Five were wise, and five were foolish. The wise ones were always careful to be "in good order," while the foolish ones were rather lax in their role.

There were probably many other important things in their lives that kept them from being truly vigilant. Perhaps they thought, "It'll all work out!" This example beautifully illustrates how subtle loyalty can be. And although the difference between them and the foolish virgins didn't seem so great at first glance, this subtle distinction brought salvation to the wise virgins and misfortune to the foolish ones.

Faithfulness is often revealed in the nuances of our lives. Perhaps the saying "small cause, great effect" is even appropriate here. In this case, the small cause is the seemingly minor difference, and the great effect is the result when the bridegroom arrived. Compared to the outcome of the story, it becomes clear that the faithful constancy and vigilance of the wise virgins are of great value in God's eyes. God places great importance on a faithful way of life and rewards it with the greatest reward of all: eternal life in heaven.

Loyalty in everyday life

If one wishes to be loyal to someone, it is of great importance that the relationship with that other person is clear. One can only be loyal if one correctly understands one's position in relation to the other. One behaves differently towards a friend than towards one's parents. One behaves differently towards a colleague than towards one's boss. If the relationship with the other person is not clear, or if the essential difference does not seem important, inappropriate behavior is inevitable. Especially with regard to a person's relationship with God, the relationship must be clear. Humankind is part of God's creation. One could even say that humankind is the crowning glory of creation. God placed humankind above all other living beings and above nature on earth (cf. Genesis 1:26-29). However, God also set limits by giving commandments to the first humans. The first humans had to learn very painfully that one must not transgress God's commandments (cf. Genesis 3).

Applying this concept to the New Testament era, and thus to "our" time, it is crucial to understand that humanity is lost without God. This primarily concerns the fact that Jesus came to earth for the salvation of humankind, and that no one can enter heaven without Jesus, that is, without repentance and forgiveness (cf. John 14:6). At the same time, this demonstrates God's love for humanity. Jesus gave himself up to fulfill the Father's will. He made the ultimate sacrifice for humanity. Not only earthly life comes from God, but also spiritual life. Humanity is therefore absolutely dependent on God.

How, then, should a person's faithfulness to God be demonstrated? The very awareness that one cannot live without God reflects the right fundamental attitude and shows that there can be nothing instead of God. When it is clear that one is lost without God, the relationship with God takes on the highest priority. Very often, people neglect their relationship with God because earthly life today, in our world characterized by prosperity, gives the impression that actual dependence on God is not so great. We are often distracted, and there are many aspects of life that compete with sincere discipleship.

A typical phenomenon, repeatedly seen in the stories of the Bible, is that as soon as a person's earthly well-being improves, they become complacent, and their relationship with God cools. This illustrates that faithfulness to God must be consciously lived, independent of personal wealth and well-being on this earth. And for this, the right fundamental attitude is essential.

The next important point to address is the spiritual life. Faithfulness to God is demonstrated in the desire to read His Word and to dwell in prayer. This is beautifully illustrated by the aforementioned man of God, Daniel, in his constant personal worship. Besides communion with God, this also demonstrates a lived dependence on Him. Daily Bible reading and prayer are essential components of a Christian's life.

Especially in times of prosperity, this aspect particularly demonstrates faithfulness to God. People don't view God as a helper on demand, but rather have a living relationship with Him. The same applies to attending church services. Nowadays, opportunities for worship are so frequent that individual services no longer hold special significance.

Many Christians are content with attending one church service per week, even though most congregations hold three to four services. The desire to attend as many services as possible to enjoy fellowship with other believers is steadily declining. At this point, everyone should ask themselves what they do during the time they miss services and what impact this has on their own life goals. Are these perhaps things that, besides God, are central to our lives?

God does not impose himself on anyone. Human beings are free in their actions toward God. This is probably why there are so many different perspectives on what faithfulness to God looks like. However, most would certainly agree that faithfulness to God requires sacrifice and the renunciation of one's own preferences and interests. And this naturally leads to the question of one's own willingness to make sacrifices and renunciations.

It was extremely important to the prophet Daniel not to defile himself with the king's food. However, it isn't clear what was actually so reprehensible about it. Daniel's abstinence from the food almost seems like a precautionary measure to avoid sinning. And of course, his resolve is also a clear affirmation of his faith in God.

Unfortunately, it's all too common to see how difficult it is for some Christians to abstain from something, simply to avoid the risk of sinning against God. Instead, they prefer to operate on the "edge of what's possible" and try to downplay or even condone various things. As Christians, they don't want to stand out; indeed, sometimes they even accept a worldly lifestyle, especially when it comes to their outward appearance.

A concrete example is the handling of alcohol. Young people, in particular, often cite the passage from Ephesians 5:18: "Do not get drunk on wine, which is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit" to justify low alcohol consumption. Their argument focuses primarily on the first part of the verse. The contrast to intoxication mentioned in the second part of the verse , "be filled with the Spirit," is certainly not a valid justification for low alcohol consumption.

Aside from the fact that this puts one in dangerous territory, which has already proven fatal for many people, Daniel could probably have argued similarly. But then could God have blessed him in the same way?

Some time ago, while walking by a lake not far from where I live, I looked at and read some information panels about the lake's history that had been placed along its shore. I was quite surprised to see a photograph from the 1950s showing men and women ice skating. What was surprising wasn't the sport or the women themselves, but the fact that they were wearing knee-length skirts. To be honest, it was an unusual sight. But apparently, it was quite normal for women not to wear trousers, not even while ice skating.

This fact starkly illustrates how the spirit of the age has captivated many Christians. For me, the question arises whether this tendency aligns with the image of a faithful Christian, or whether it represents a departure from the unconditional obedience we saw in Abraham.

As a positive contrast to the two negative examples, I would like to turn to Daniel one last time.

Daniel was free in his decision regarding his relationship with God. In my view, his behavior can only be explained by the right fundamental attitude toward God. God's perspective on his life was of paramount importance to him, not the opinions and thoughts of others. His actions demonstrate that he was not concerned with tradition or prohibitions, but rather that he had a living connection to God and allowed himself to be influenced and guided by Him. This quality enabled him to act independently of human opinions and helped him to remain steadfast in his trials.

Loyalty to God instead of idols means that these two characteristics are in absolute competition with each other. "You shall have no other gods before me" calls us to at least examine, if not eliminate, everything that hinders our devotion to God. Loyalty to God is a clear sign that He alone is at the center of our lives.

Eduard Stripling

Municipality of Sottrum