“And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.” (2Sa 15:21 AV)
There is a slight difference of opinion as to who this Ittai is. Some suppose he is a Benjamite who was exiled from his tribe for some unknown reason. Most, however, believe him to be an exiled Philistine who, with 600 men, allied themselves with David. Perhaps this small band met up with David and was the reason he fled from Saul into the land of the Philistines years ago. Regardless of how they met, it is apparent this group of Philistines, and Ittai in particular, were devoted to David to the bitter end. When Absalom committed insurrection, David advised Ittai and his 600 men to return to Jerusalem and serve Absalom. Ittai and his men were banished from Gath and were men without a home. They could not return to their home country. David’s reasoning was his ignorance of the future could not guarantee Ittai and his men's security and safety. Absalom seemed like the most pragmatic of all choices. In this repatriated Philistine, we see integrity and loyalty not seen in any other of David’s mighty men. Joab and Abishai would eventually turn on David. Only the proselytized Philistine who commanded a third of David’s army was loyal unto death.
Loyalty is a rare commodity today. Not many are willing to go all the way no matter the results. Few are willing to commit on principle alone. There has to be a guaranteed outcome. The opening of baseball season was a few days ago. We have not gone to a game as yet. I am sure we will squeeze one in here before the season ends. There are those who hold season tickets and would never miss a game. Most, however, go only if our team is winning. If they happen to have a losing season and have no hope of advancing to the playoffs, attendance at the games seems to peter off. It’s the diehard fans that will stick through thick and thin until the bitter end. I remember going to a Cubs game that took well over seven hours before they finally called it on account of the weather. It was a well-known game because the grounds crew fumbled the infield tarp time and again. It was more entertaining to watch them try to roll out the tarp and return it again. My friend and I stayed until they called the game on account of the weather. There were multiple stoppages. I cannot remember how many. There must have been quite a few because if I remember right, the game had not been played enough innings for the game to be considered complete. Only the true fans will stick it out no matter the outcome.
Upon reflection on our dedication to Christ, I wonder how many will stick it out until the bitter end. Loyalty is a hard character trait to teach. It is not something that one has and another does not. We have it because we choose to have it. Those who have loyalty do so because it is a matter of character. Loyalty is not a personality trait. Loyalty is not a spiritual gift. Having said that, I wonder how loyal I am to the LORD no matter the outcome. Will I continue to spread the good news of the gospel regardless of interest? Or, will I seek a way out and let it be someone else’s problem? Will the people of God stand for what is right even if it might mean jail time, loss of income, or worse? Will the people of God declare that what the culture is doing is contrary to God’s word no matter the consequences? Will the true churches of God call out what is wrong with our society no matter how they might respond? If we see martyrdom as the only outcome of loyalty, will we be loyal nonetheless? My fear is if we cannot be faithful in times of relative ease, we will not be faithful when things are more difficult.
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