Bible Verses about Loyalty in Relationships

Have you ever seen a momma bear in action? She is fiercely loyal in protecting her cubs. And moms can be just as fired up in protecting their children today when they are being bullied or put down.

The word loyalty is found in the Bible only a few times. In Hebrew, the word for loyalty in the Old Testament is “checed” which means kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. This definition doesn’t only help us understand Bible verses about loyalty in relationships; it helps us understand how loyalty is found in verses all over the Bible and in different types of relationships.

The best example of loyalty is God himself. He has been faithful to us over and over when we obey his commandments.  And that loyalty isn’t just to us. It goes on to our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  Wow- that is loyal!

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. Deuteronomy 7:9

Not only is God loyal but Jesus was loyal to us as well. He went to the cross to save us from our sins. Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane asking God for him to be spared the agony of the cross. Then He prayed, “not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). He knew that God wanted Him to fulfill his mission.

Since God loved us so much to send His Son for us (John 3:16), Jesus went through the painful death for you and me.  He was loyal in fulfilling His commitment to us.

Just as God and Jesus were loyal to us, there are 4 types of relationships that we are called to show our loyalty in as well.

Bible Verses About Loyalty in Relationships- 4 Types

1. Bible verses about loyalty to friends

One of my favorite scenes in an older Disney favorite is in Jungle Book. Baloo the Bear had become close friends with Mowgli.

Even to the point of fighting Shere Khan and losing his life. In the scene where Mowgli finds Baloo dead, this Bible verse is quoted.

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

Even though Baloo survived the attack, it was an example of his willingness to put his life on the line to protect a friend.

Jesus said this verse to the disciples to show that was going to lay down His life for his friends.  He told them that they were His friends when they obey God because He has told them all that He heard from the Father (John 15:14-15). That includes us. When we obey God, we are His friend too.

Loyalty is one of the traits that we look for in a friend. We should be just as loyal to our friends. The friends that are close to us will love us no matter what.  And they will be with us even in the bad times.

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Proverbs 17:17

For more, check out these amazing Christian friendship quotes!

Friends are Like Family

These friends are like a brother or sister to us. That shows us how close they are. This closeness can be closer than our own family members.

And these friends will call us out when we are wrong. They know us so well that they know when we are heading down the wrong path. They are willing to take a chance at the relationship in order to keep us from hurting ourselves.

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 ESV

The Hebrew word for sharp, ‘chadad,’ means to be sharp, alert, or keen. This example of metal being sharpened by metal is so good.  When that happens, there are sparks that fly but the outcome is a refined and better product. 

This is what a good friend does for us. Even though some sparks may fly when we have some hard conversations with them, they have a keen awareness of when we need to think about something or turn in another direction.

They help improve us so we are a better person and more accurately reflect God’s glory. 

A Biblical Example of Loyalty to Friends

King David was close friends with Jonathan, the son of King Saul. Jonathan helped to protect David from his dad. Years later, after King Saul and Jonathan were both dead, David was King and wanted to do something for a relative of the house of Saul for Jonathan’s sake. 

One of Jonathan’s sons, Mephibosheth, who was lame in both legs, was found and given a seat at the King’s table like one of David’s sons (2 Samuel 9:11). David’s loyalty to Jonathan went beyond his death and to his sons.

2. Bible Verses About Loyalty to Family

Family members are the ones that love us from the first day when we were born and spend a lot of time with us. They know us inside and out.

Loyalty to family is so important in the Bible that this loyalty verse comes with a warning. 

“Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8 ESV

Even as believers, we may not have had the best relationship with some family members but God’s Word is clear that we need to provide for them.

There may be some reasons why you are estranged from your family and you were hurt in some way. However, you need to try to make amends with them and forgive them. 

This is such a hard thing to do but forgiveness will actually bring you freedom. Anger becomes bitterness and it consumes you. It leads you down a destructive path that robs you of your peace.

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”  Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV

Are you a believer of God and know Him as your Savior?  You can know peace with God today. That is the first step in making amends with your family.

Once you know the grace and mercy that He has given to us as believers, you will have a better picture of why we need to provide for our family, even the estranged ones. 

A Biblical Example of Loyalty to Family

A great example of family loyalty is Ruth. Naomi and Elimelech traveled to Moab with their two sons and decided to live there. Elimelech died and their two sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. After 10 years, the sons, Mahlon and Chilion, died.  

Naomi decided to return to Judah where she had heard that the Lord provided food for his people. She told her two daughters-in-law that they didn’t need to come with her as she wasn’t going to bear any sons again for them to marry.

Orpah listened to her and stayed in Moab. However, Ruth would not hear of it.

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16 ESV

I marvel at Ruth’s loyalty. She lived in Moab her whole life and when she was presented with the situation of moving to a foreign country, she held strong. Her husband had just died and was grieving. Yet she didn’t want Naomi to leave without her. 

When she married her husband, she had bonded with him and accepted his family as hers. She was so committed that she took the Lord God as her God and his family as well. When going back to Judah, she wasn’t going as a foreigner.

She was accepted by Naomi’s family and was now a part of the larger family of Judah.

3. Bible Verses About Loyalty to Country

There are a few Bible verses about loyalty to our country that are sprinkled throughout the Bible.

We are called to pray for our leaders and their families.

That they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. Ezra 6:10 ESV

Remember how loyalty means faithfulness? This loyalty that we have for our king or country keeps and sustains them.

Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king, and by steadfast love his throne is upheld. Proverbs 20:28 ESV

Prayer for our leaders is important because it has a direct effect on us and how we serve God.

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  1 Timothy 2:1-2 ESV

A Biblical Example of Loyalty to Country

When David was king, his son Absalom conspired against him and got many of the people of Israel to follow him.  The people were going to make Absalom king instead.

When David heard of the conspiracy, he told all of his servants that they needed to flee the palace before they were attacked and killed with a sword by Absalom’s men.

As all the servants were passing in front of David to leave, he noticed a servant that had just come into his service the day before.  David told the servant that he could go back to his own country and blessed him.

But Ittai answered the king, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.” 2 Samuel 15:21

This servant, who was new on the job, decided he was going wherever David went. He was going to be loyal to him, even to death.

4. Bible Verses About Loyalty to God

God is so loyal to us. His steadfast love is repeated over and over again in the Old Testament and we learned that loyalty applies to multiple generations of our family line (Deuteronomy 7:9).

Since He is so loyal to us for keeping His commandments, why wouldn’t we also be loyal to Him? We love our family and friends and show loyalty to them. It is logical that we’d do the same thing for Him.

Jesus said that, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15 ESV

That loyalty comes out in the form of obedience. And when we follow Him, we don’t stumble around in the darkness.

God shines a light so that we can clearly see the path for the needed steps in front of us. There is enough light for us to see. Disobedience is one step to the right or left into the darkness.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 ESV

When we are loyal to Him and pursue righteousness or right-living, we are promised that in it we will find life and honor (Proverbs 21:21).  There are rich benefits to being loyal to God.

A Biblical Example of Loyalty to God

After the death of Moses, Joshua led the Israelites into the promised Land of Canaan. And now at the end of the book of Joshua, he gives the people a history lesson on how God had been faithful to them.

Joshua challenged the people to put away the gods of the Amorites for where they were dwelling now or serve the Lord, the God of their fathers.

Joshua let them know that he and all in his house were choosing to serve the Lord.

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15 ESV

Joshua had seen God’s faithfulness over the years and was loyal to Him in His decisions.

Bible Verses of Loyalty

As we ponder how Bible verses of loyalty affect our relationships, I want you to think about your loyalty to God. 

Make love and faithfulness a part of your life.  God wants His Words to be such an important part of our lives that we memorize them and engrave them on our hearts.

These words will come back to us in times of trouble or despair and give us hope to continue on in God’s strength.

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 3:3 ESV

Review how God has been faithful to you in your life.  Then choose loyalty to God and loyalty in all of your other relationships!