Rule 22: Be Loyal to Your Family

By | November 27, 2024

[November 27, 2024] Be loyal to your family, respect them, honor and protect them. Dedicate yourself to their well-being, for they are the ones who are on your team.

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your GOD is giving you.” — Exodus 20:12

Loyalty is too frequently underrated and underappreciated. We are all flawed beings with curious tastes and attractions. We also tend to veer off the path of good to follow our desires, often searching for something we frequently cannot identify. While searching to make our lives meaningful, we must never forget that our families are supporters of our welfare.

“Loyalty is a big part of football, and it shows if you are a real man or not.” — Jack Wilshere, English football coach

It matters not whether they deserve our loyalty, and perhaps they deserve nothing or worse. Yet, by being loyal to our family, we send a clear message and announce to those around us that family is essential and has great value.

I’ve always believed that family (and friends) is more than the immediate practical value of distributing household duties, sharing costs, and working together on daily tasks. Families teach us valuable lessons, encourage us, warn us of impending danger, and demonstrate how to be a better person.

Unfortunately, there is an idea that family structures of the past are unnecessary and impracticable. Some will tell us that the traditional nuclear family is somehow unworthy of our allegiance.  I disagree. This failure to accept the family is tipping our moral scales in the wrong direction. Rejection of the father and mother leads to a sea of young men and women adrift of values and honor.  Crime increases, cities burn, self-value declines, and suicide soars. Our family is THE refuge of a good man and a good woman.

It was not that long ago that we looked into the role of families in the success of Soldiers. No formal studies exist that address how families the question is crucial for us: “How does the family affect the military and readiness?”  We discovered that those raised in stable, two-parent families make up the hardest-working, most dedicated, most trustworthy, and most resilient military members. We also discovered, on average, that married military members with children make the best Soldiers.

When making an effective Soldier, an intact family was the best indicator. Loyalty to the family (and friends and community) is the precursor to great soldering and great families.

It is up to each of us to stand up for the family.  The family’s role in raising the child harks back to when humans first walked the earth. No one can argue with any legitimacy that families are failing us or that the family does not deserve our loyalty. Doing so will spell disaster for our youngest.

Be loyal to your family.

————

Please read my books:

  1. “55 Rules for a Good Life,” on Amazon (link here).
  2. “Our Longest Year in Iraq,” on Amazon (link here).
Author: Douglas R. Satterfield

Hello. I provide one article every day. My writings are influenced by great thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Jung, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Jean Piaget, Erich Neumann, and Jordan Peterson, whose insight and brilliance have gotten millions worldwide to think about improving ourselves. Thank you for reading my blog.

11 thoughts on “Rule 22: Be Loyal to Your Family

  1. E.T.

    Happy “early “ Thanksgiving to all.
    🦃 🦃 🦃 🦃 🦃 🦃 🦃 🦃

    Reply
  2. Mrs. Elicia Horowitz

    Gen. Doug Satterfield is very very very pro-family. Can you tell?

    Reply
  3. The Kid

    “ The Important, Role, and Function of the Family in Society”
    https://medium.com/@michelledaceynewman/the-important-role-and-function-of-the-family-in-society-59168f62cc16
    The family is a fundamental and universal institution that has existed throughout human history. It serves numerous vital roles and functions essential to developing and maintaining a healthy and stable society.
    One of the family’s most crucial functions is providing emotional and physical support to its members. Family members offer love, care, and help to one another, fostering emotional security and stability. Within the family, individuals learn essential life skills, such as problem-solving, communication, and interpersonal skills, that help them navigate their lives and relationships with others (Dykeman 2019, 244–266).

    Reply
    1. Sarah_Sthiles

      —— and often overlooked by most folks is that another vital role of the family in society is transmitting cultural values and traditions.

      Reply
  4. rjsmithers

    Family is and will always be at the center of a well-functioning society. And let us not forget that this is the way of Godliness.

    Reply
  5. SWEENEY

    BE LOYAL TO YOUR FAMILY
    ——————
    NOTHING ELSE MATTERS IF YOU FAIL TO HONOR, RESPECT, AND BE LOYAL TO YOUR FAMILY.

    Reply
  6. American Girl

    Gen. Satterfield, thank you for another powerful article on the necessity of FAMILY. Too many modern-day liberals and their Communist cousins are anti-family and work hard to ensure the government is “legally “ in the middle of family life. Enter birth control, stage left. Enter feminism stage right. All gather to push for the ultimate destruction of the nuclear family. Sad. 🤮 Government, stay out of the family!!!!!

    Reply
    1. Tony B. Custer

      Right, American Girl. Government out. Whenever govt gets involved, evil enters. Even with the election of Donald Trump, a very pro-life politician, he will not be pushing back on this Western nation slow-moving iceberg. Gen. Satterfield, look into the Jaffa Memo. I recommend an article on it.

      Reply
        1. AliveFord

          Yep, and this is where reading and thinking about comments in this leader forum comes in handy. Read the comments and if you don’t understand, then ask for clarification. Also, read more about this rule and others in “55 Rules for a Good Life”. You will love the book.

          Reply
    2. Jack of Spades ♠️

      Writing with conviction. Thanks, American Girl. We need better oversight to not just what the government does but how we need to shake off the idea that our government is here to help. Nothing could be further from the truth. 🇺🇸

      Reply

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