What Is Loyalty?

Claire Black: This is True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. Together, we’ll explore God’s truth for us, one drive at a time . . . or maybe I should say, one flight at a time. 

We’re hitting the skies to grow closer to each other and closer to Jesus. I’ll tell you why in a sec. 

Are you ever tempted to throw out a t-shirt because it’s so last year? How about a friendship? 

It’s popular to think we live in a “throw away” world, but that’s not what the Bible says. It teaches us about something called “loyalty.”

In this season Dannah Gresh is going to help us learn about loyalty. We’re going to look at the life of an amazingly loyal woman named Ruth. This season is based on the Bible study Dannah wrote. It’s called Ruth: Becoming a Girl of Loyalty. Her example will teach us to be faithful. 

While we learn about Ruth, we’re going to fly around the world with Dannah and her co-host Staci Rudolph, as they launch the True Girl Travel Agency. So, grab your passport, suitcase, and a pillow for the airplane. 

Let’s get ready for take off. First stop, Nigeria. 

It’s time for episode 1 of season 9, titled, “What Is Loyalty?”

Dannah Gresh: Wow! What an airport!

You know Staci, they don’t have welcomes like that at JFK. 

Phew . . . this thing is heavy. 

Staci Rudolph: Hey, let me help you with that suitcase.

Dannah: It looks like I’m the one who over packed this time around, Staci. It seems like that thing got heavier during the flight. Maybe your traveling habits are starting to rub off on me. 

Staci: Hey, don’t fight it. You’d rather have what you need, right?

Dannah: I guess. I don’t want to break my back either, though. 

Oh wow! Just listen to all of those wonderful Nigerian accents. 

Staci: I love it! This is going to be fun! 

Dannah: Yeah, but it doesn’t sound anything like home. 

Staci: No, it’s very African. 

Oh hey, there’s our true girl and her mom! 

Dannah: What? Where? I don’t . . .

Staci: Right there!

Dannah: Oh, there you are. Hi.

Staci: Hey guys, you made it. First, True Girl, let me say congratulations on winning a six-week getaway with the . . .

Dannah and Staci: True Girl Travel Agency! 

Dannah: We’re the True Girl Travel Agencyyyyy, where we’ll go, just wait and seeeee.

Staci: Uh . . . We’re still working on the jingle.

Dannah: Working on it? I thought that was pretty good.

Staci: You did great. 

Now, True Girl, I know you must have been pretty confused about where you were going, but ya hopped on the flight anyway. Welcome to Nigeria!

Like I said, we’re the True Girl Travel Agency. On this six-week adventure, which we call the Ruth Package, we’ll be touring a different country each week, starting here in Nigeria. 

As we travel we’ll be learning about a woman from the Bible named Ruth, hence the name the Ruth Package.

Dannah: Now, Ruth is one of the shorter books in the Bible. One of the biggest themes in the Book of Ruth is the theme of loyalty. As we travel, we’ll learn exactly what loyalty is and why we should strive to be girls who live it out. 

Staci: Another interesting thing about her story is that Ruth was a foreigner in a new land. That means she was living somewhere that wasn’t home. New places and people can be pretty tough to navigate.

Dannah: You can say that again! New foods, new languages, new everything! I could barely understand the guy who was checking our passport.

Staci: Exactly. And don’t worry, I hear that the accent gets easier to understand as we hear more and more of it. 

So, as we hop around to different countries, we’ll get a glimpse into what it felt like for Ruth to be the new girl in town. Like, maybe there was an accent that always reminded her that she wasn’t at home.

Dannah: Yeah, Staci. Alright, I already requested an Uber and . . . oh, there it is!

Staci: I call shotgun! Hey, thanks for picking us up. 

[Whispering] Dannah, I think he’s one of those quiet types, but I like how he’s handling our luggage.

Thanks!

You can sit in the middle, True Girl. We’ve got lots to say, and I don’t want you to miss any of it. 

Straight to the Garden Top Hotel. 

Dannah: Yeah, thank you sir. 

Okay, True Girl, as the quality Travel Agents we are, we have friends in each country we’re visiting who are more than ready to show us the ropes. 

Staci: Yep. They’ll let us know the coolest hangout spots, best local food, and anything else their amazing country has to offer. We’ll be prepared for our brief journey as foreigners.

Dannah: Yes, we’re strangers in this land.

But our friend, Chizzy, is not. She’s a first-generation Nigerian American. That means her parents were born and grew up in Nigeria, but she was born in the United States. She likes to refer to herself as a Nigerian-Texan. Cool, right?! She’s visited Nigeria many times and agreed to give us some tips for our trip.

Staci: Did she leave us a voice message yet?

Dannah: Yep, let’s listen to it together.

Chizzy Anderson: Hey Dannah, hey Staci, congratulations on launching the new travel agency! I’m so excited for you and even more stoked that your first stop is Nigeria. So, here are some things I think you should know:

Yoruba and Ibo are two of the languages you’ll hear spoken in Lagos where you’ll be staying. There are actually over 500 languages spoken in Nigeria, but Yoruba and Ibo will be the one you hear most often during your visit. Since I’m Ibo, I’ll teach you to say: Kedu ka ị mere. Kedu ka ị mere mean,s “Hi, how are you?” 

Oh, and the food, if you’re looking for something yummy to try, suya is soooo good. It’s thinly sliced beef marinated with this incredible combination of spices originating with the Hausa people of Northern Nigeria. The meat is grilled and served with extra spices and sliced raw onions. I cannot get enough of it! Okay, I’m gonna let you guys get to it. I hope you have an awesome time in Nigeria, and please eat lots and lots of suya for me! Bye guys.

Staci: Chizzy’s the best! Hey True Girl, kedu ka i mere!

Dannah: Yes, kedu ka i mere! I can’t wait to try some suya!

So earlier, we mentioned that this six-week tour is going to help us understand how to be girls of loyalty, just like Ruth. 

Dannah: [honking] Wow, the traffic here in Lagos is crazy. It’s like they’re just making up their own lanes. That’s not how we drive in the United States!

Staci: Yeah. Ya know what else is different? No air conditioning! Man, it’s hot in here!

Dannah: Yeah.

Okay, let me ask you a question: have you ever been caught in-between two friends? Like you were being pulled in two different directions?

Staci: I sure have. It’s not a fun place to be, either. I had a really good group of friends once. We did everything together. But one of them started going through some hard things and wasn’t that fun to be around, so the others stopped inviting her when we’d hang out. I had to decide if I was going to take the easy route and keep having fun with them and ignore my friend who was going through all the hard stuff or if I was going to stick by her through those rough times. My arms felt like two spaghetti noodles that people were stretching in different directions. 

Dannah: Oh Staci, that’s a great way to describe that feeling. I’ve had that too. I think most of us have experienced a situation like that at some point. I know Ruth did.

The book of Ruth is a short but beautiful book of the Bible. It follows the story of one woman, named Ruth, as she chose over and over and over again to do the right thing because of her love for God and her family. As we study this book of the Bible, we’re going to see one big theme keep popping up: loyalty.

If we could go way back in time and spy on her, we’d see her walking to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law Naomi. Why? Because some really bad stuff has happened. Naomi’s husband has died. Ruth’s husband, Naomi’s son, had died. And so has Naomi’s other son. Naomi decides to go back to her homeland and Ruth knows her mother-in-law is too old to travel the long hard road alone. 

The book of Ruth opens with our lead woman sticking by her mother-in-law’s side. Ruth is leaving everyone she knows and loves and everything that’s familiar to be with Naomi. She’s being loyal.

Staci: Wait, wait, wait! Slow down a second!

Oh, not you, sir, on to the Garden Top Hotel, please.

Dannah, before we start looking for the theme of loyalty in Ruth’s story, we need to make sure we understand what loyalty is, right?

Dannah: You’re so right! So, loyalty is . . . hmmmm?

Well, loyalty is staying committed to someone or something we care about all the time, no matter what!

Ruth displays this constantly. She loves others well, and we see the proof of this in her commitment to them. I don’t know about you, but I wanna be a girl of loyalty too!

Staci: Me too! 

Dannah: Oh Staci, look at all those flamingos over there! 

Staci: Whoa, there are a ton of 'em! 

Dannah: There are! I don’t see many of those in my backyard. Oh, fun fact, did you know they get their pink color from the algae they eat? I mean, most people think it’s from the shrimp they eat, but the shrimp actually eat the same algae too. Both the shrimp and flamingos get their color from that algae.

Staci: That’s pretty cool! I see your love of animals has followed us even here, huh? 

Dannah: You know it! Okay, back to loyalty.

Staci: So, one way I understand loyalty is by looking at my hobbies and interests. Have you ever had a favorite hobby that you just love? 

Dannah: Oh yeah.

Staci: For me it’s basketball! I can shoot hoops all day long. Maybe for you it’s singing or baking or whatever you love. Whatever your favorite thing to do is, I bet you do it a lot, right? When we find a hobby we love, we commit to it. We care about it! We want to get better at it, so we spend a lot of time giving that activity attention. Because we love it so much, we also tend to support the people and organizations that help us understand and experience our hobby, right?

Dannah: Yeah, that’s true. For me, I love Miniature Silky Fainting Goats. I enjoy their long silky hair and their teeny-tiny size as well as their whimsical personalities. (And, yes! They do faint if they get frightened or too excited!) Anyway, I have four of these amazing creatures right now: Horton, Cindy Lou Who, Boo Who, and Sam-I-Am. (Yes, we’ve named them after Dr. Seuss characters. All except Boo Who, his silly name just matched Cindy’s so well!)

Staci: Oh boy, you’re not gonna pull out all the pictures, are you?

Dannah: Okay, okay, no, I’ll stay on track.

But let’s say the goats became a lot of work because they decided staying in the fence was optional. So, I had to start locking them in and putting them out in a smaller, more secure pen each day to graze. And then one of them got sick and needed medicine three times a day to get better. But . . . I decided that was too much work . . . and I just didn’t feel like doing those things . . . maybe because I wanted to watch Netflix. Staci, would you still believe that I love my fainting goats?

Staci: Probably not.

Dannah: Right. If I am really being loyal to them, I would be interested in them even when taking care of them is difficult. 

Staci: Very true.

Dannah: The truth is, I do love my goats. Recently, I have had to lock them in the barn at night and take them out to the smaller, more secure pen each morning because they have become escape artists.

And three times a day I do medicine for one of them. I do this because I’m loyal to them. It’s not really easy; it’s not fun to do those things, but I do them anyway.

Staci: Wow, true loyalty doesn’t take a break, huh? Even when things get hard, you gotta keep going with it. 

Dannah: You got it, my friend! Loyalty means staying true even when it’s tough. 

Staci: Okay so now that we know what loyalty is, let’s check out what the Bible teaches us about it. We’re going to look at one particular conversation Jesus had about love.

It’s time for our destination verse for today.1 Corinthians 13, verse 7 tells us:

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Hmm, love never gives up, never loses faith, always hopes, and it endures through every circumstance. 

Dannah: Yeah, you just said that. 

Staci: I know, but that sounds like loyalty to me, right?

Dannah: Yeah, exactly. Loyalty continues to love even when it’s difficult. No matter what happens, love sticks through it. 

Staci: Ya know, that reminds me of another Bible verse.

Dannah: Which one?

Staci: John 15:13 says, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Now, you’re probably asking, “What does the Bible mean by laying down our lives?” Jesus’ life is the best example of loving God and loving others. You probably know John 3:16.

Dannah: Oh, I do! I know it, 

For this is how God loved the world: he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Staci: Jesus literally gave up His life for us. He loved us so much that He gave up His God-likeness, came to earth as a baby, and then died as a punishment for all the sins that we did, so that we wouldn’t have to. Jesus gave up His life for you and me. Now, that’s the ultimate loyal love!

Dannah: Okay Staci, let me ask this: does being loyal mean we need to go die for our friends?

Staci: Oh, no, no way! That would be pretty scary!

Dannah: I know, right?! 

Staci: The wonderful thing is that Jesus already did that! But we can show love that’s kinda like Jesus’ whenever we choose to give up something to show love to someone else.

Dannah: Yeah, we can give up: 

• our time
• our attention
• our money
• our reputation
• our plans
• our desires
• anything else that belongs to us 

Here’s a nice, short definition of loyalty: loyalty means loving others no matter what it costs. 

Staci: That sums it up. 

Dannah: Yeah, when we sacrifice our own desires for others, we lay down our lives for our friends, and that is loyalty.

Staci: Yep. Now, being loyal when no one's watching, choosing to love over and over again, and loving when it’s difficult sounds great, right?

Dannah: Yes.

Staci: But what does that look like in our daily lives?

Dannah: Well, it can look like keeping a promise you made to your mom, even when you don’t feel like it. 

Staci: True, or reading your Bible every single day.

Dannah: Yes, it can also look like standing up for a classmate who is being bullied or cheering up your brother when he having a bad day.

Staci: Absolutely, those are good examples. Now that we understand what loyalty is, I think we’re ready to dive deeper into Ruth’s story as we travel the next few weeks. She was a very loyal woman, and her life shows us how a girl of loyalty should live. 

Dannah: So that friend who was a lot of work and your other friends started to want to be with her less, when you felt like . . . did you say your arms felt like spaghetti noodles in a tug of war between them?

Staci: Yeah.

Dannah: How’d that turn out?

Staci: Well, unfortunately, I went along with the other girls for a while, but eventually I did the right thing. I stuck it out with my friend through all she was going through and it made our friendship so much stronger.

Dannah: Aw, I love that. I love how you were honest about how it was easy kind of to go along with the crowd, but eventually loyalty kicked in. 

Well, I think that gets us ready to start studying the book of Ruth at our next destination.

Staci: I’d say so. 

Dannah: Alright, we understand what loyalty is. Did you get that all, True Girl? 

It sure is taking us a long time to get to . . . oh . . . look at that sign, Staci!

Dannah/Staci: Best Suya in Nigeria!

Staci: Hey driver, can we make a stop!?

I wonder which of these restaurants is the one?

Dannah: I am hungry!

Staci: Hey, Dannah, it’s not a restaurant! 

Dannah: What?

Staci: The arrow’s pointing to that itty bitty shack. Is it possible that suya is food you buy from street vendors?

Dannah: Wow, that’s not quite like home, but well, remember the reason we’re here in a foreign land is to get an idea of what it feels like to be a foreigner. So, I guess we’ve got to try some new things. 

Staci: I guess so. Street vendor it is. Is this one of those things we’re gonna eat and say it tastes like chicken?

Claire: Well, there it is: loyalty means loving othersno matter what it costs. You’ll find more loyalty lessons in the Bible study Ruth: Becoming a Girl of Loyalty, by Dannah Gresh. You can get a copy of that book to study the life of Ruth more deeply. Just visit MyTrueGirl.com to find out more.

Nigeria was amazing! Flamingos, sunshine, and lessons in loyalty sure made for a great vacation, right? 

Here’s a great idea, why don’t you and your mom make an international dish after each episode in this season of the podcast. If you do, maybe you can take a picture of it and have your mom post it on Instagram and tag @truegirlofficial.

Join us next week as Dannah and Staci show us around our next destination. Here are some clues about where we’re heading. You’ll see lots of red double-deckers, and Staci’s gonna love it because they have the best afternoon tea there! See ya there.

The True Girl podcast is produced by Revive Our Hearts, calling women of all ages to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ!

 

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