TRUE LOYALTY

One day, a king summoned his most faithful knight to come feast at his table. Moments later, his knight arrived at the royal diner decorated with the best and sumptuous meals you could ever imagine. While he stood, he said.

“You summoned, My Lord.” the knight said

“Yes Petryr. Tonight, you dine with your king.” the king replied.

“I am not worthy to eat from my king’s table. I swore to protect my king and his castle until my last breath. Forgive me, My Lord.” the knight declined.

The king, while on his seat, replied with a chuckle.

“You don’t need to prove your loyalty to me, Petyr. Take a seat.” the king offered.

The knight, still was skeptical about the king’s offer. At this point, he didn’t know which was right anymore. The word of the king or his oath? So his eyes kept twitching back and forth.

“That’s an order, Petyr.” the king said.

Eventually, he obeyed his king. He sat down.

“You can eat Petyr. I ordered the cooks to prepare the best meal just for you.” the king said.

Petyr couldn’t whirl his head around why his king’s kind gesture. So he asked.

“But…” intercepted by his king.

“No questions son. Just eat up.” the king said.

So, Petryr obeyed and begun to eat as his king. Moments later, his king asked.

“Petyr?”

“My Lord?”

“Why are you so loyal to me?” he asked.

While his mouth was full, he replied.

“I’m a knight my Lord. I swore an oath to serve you until the day I die.” he puttered.

“I’m not talking about the oath you swore. I’m asking if I deserve your loyalty?” the king queried.

At this point, Petyr discontinued his meal, puzzled by the king’s question.

“Of…course my Lord. You’re….the one true king…you deserved everyone’s loyalty.” he stuttered.

The king chortled for a moment.

“You see Petyr…Are they loyal to me because I’m king or because you believe in me? Are they loyal because they reverence me or because of what they’ve seen in me? Are you my most trusted knight simply because of an oath or how much you’ve come to know me?” the king queried again.

Petyr, was even more puzzled at his complex questions.

“My Lord…”

We’ll get back to the story in a bit.

What is LOYALTY? It’s a word many use but lack the rationale behind what it truly entails. For some, loyalty is service. For others, loyalty is sacrifice, trust and dedication. Then again, LOYALTY is NOT a QUESTION of WHAT but WHO. Loyalty is not a question of who DEMANDS it but who has EARNED it.

A lot of people are loyal by BLOOD [Family]. Some are loyal by DUTY [Authority]. Some are loyal by REVERENCE [Fear]. Some are loyal by INFLUENCE. A lot are loyal for their POCKETS. People are loyal for different reasons. Question is, WHO deserves your loyalty?

When the king asked Petyr why he was loyal to him, he didn’t want to hear what he ALREADY knew. He wanted to hear what NO ONE had the GUTS to tell him. He wanted to hear what people THOUGHT about him. He wanted to know what people SAW him AS. Was he just a KING or their LEADER?

He wanted to know why people FOLLOWED him. That’s what loyalty is about. Sometimes we must learn to evaluate what we do for people. WHY should I trust you? WHY should I believe in you? WHY should I give you that much dedication and devotion? Are you really WORTH all of that?

A lot of people TRUST FAMILY because it’s family not because that family member DESERVES that level of trust. Some trust an AUTHORITY because it’s authority not because they actually BELIEVE in that authority. Like Petyr, he SWORE an oath to PROTECT the king whether his king deserved that or not, it wasn’t in his place to CHOOSE.

Like FAMILY, you love your father not because of what you’ve come to know about him or your relationship with him but because he’s your FATHER and he’s family. You sacrifice your TIME to your JOB because at the end of the month, you’re gonna get paid by your BOSS not because you even LOVE your job or your boss and so you stay LOYAL.

You TRUST FRIENDS because you’re supposed to not because they’ve EARNED it. You stay loyal cause that’s what friends do. You stay loyal to a man because you FEAR his bad side not because he deserves a SHRED of your time. Again, I stay LOYAL to you because you’ve EARNED it not because I was TOLD to or SOCIETY made me to. I’m loyal to you because I BELIEVE in you not because you bought me.

I stay loyal because of what we’ve come to SHARE not because of I’m OBLIGATED to. They say respect is reciprocal. Well, so is loyalty. It’s not SLAVERY but SACRIFICE in SERVICE which BOTH parties MUST do. It takes TWO to be loyal. Loyalty is GIVE and TAKE. If Petyr could be that loyal to his king because he BELIEVED in him not just because he’s king, then his king must return the favour cause LOYALTY is also a CHOICE. Loyalty is a PERSONALITY. This is Danny world…