The Collins Dictionary defines ‘loyalty’ as the quality of staying firm in your friendship or support for something or someone.
Professor Martin Luther said, “Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved”.
Loyalty isn’t defined by who is there when everything is smooth sailing. It takes being in a difficult situation where things can be overwhelming to see where true loyalty lies. JRR Tolkien said, “Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens”.
Loyalty isn’t something that you just get; you are not entitled to it, you earn it. If you can show someone that they can trust you, that you make a good team, that you appreciate them and what they can do, then loyalty can be formed and the trust can be returned.
Maurice Franks said, “Loyalty cannot be blueprinted. It cannot be produced on an assembly line. In fact, it cannot be manufactured at all, for its origin is the human heart – the centre of self-respect and human dignity. It is a force which leaps into being only when conditions are exactly right for it – and it is a force very sensitive to betrayal.”
