Yes, we’ve all seen this, it’s been going around and posters on this pop up rather frequently. And, yes, maybe some of us feel that way at times. And, yes, some of us need to ponder if we’ve made some people feel that way more than once. At first glance, this saying seems painfully obvious. Surely we all value loyal persons, and surely we all want to have as many loyal persons around us for as long as we possibly can. Right? Your call. For me, I’m not too sure.

What, after all, is loyalty? As always, I’ll use the Character First! definition of loyalty, which is “Using difficult times to demonstrate my commitment to those I serve.” Wow. Sounds like a rather tall order! Then again, what is commitment? Are we to expect commitment only when times are good? Are we ourselves committed to others only when it’s good and convenient for us to be so? Who is serving whom? Ok, raise your hands. That’s who is serving. That’s right, everybody. Even monarchs serve their people, when you boil it all down. Raise your hands, all you who are leaders. That’s another set of those who are serving. We see, then, that loyal persons are simply those who are committed to serve the different needs of others more than they are committed to serve their own.

So how do loyal people, those who are committed to demonstrate commitment to those they serve, especially in difficult times, get pushed to a place where they no longer care? And who’s doing the pushing? Can genuinely loyal people even be pushed? I think not. A loyal person is also likely to be a person of wisdom, discernment and decisiveness. If a loyal person leaves you, it is not because he has given up on you. It is because he has discerned that he can no longer be of any help to you. Perhaps only the consequences of your actions will be able to knock some sense into that thick skull of yours. In the meantime, that loyal person is wise enough to know that his purpose is not only to serve you, but to raise value for all his stakeholders. His resources are limited, and other needs await. It doesn’t mean he no longer cares. It just means he’s human and he’s limited. Change course if you want him back.

Be circumspect before sharing quotes, phrases, memes and the like. Make sure people get the right message. Think through before you pass it on!