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“Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty. Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart.
Earn a reputation for living well in God’s eyes and the eyes of the people.
Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline; don’t sulk under his loving correction.
It’s the child he loves that God corrects; a father’s delight is behind all this. The Very Tree of Life”
Proverbs 3:3-12 The Message
This passage of scripture from the Old Testament book of Proverbs contains my life verse.
I have endeavored to live my life within its wisdom since I graduated high school.
In January 2025, I was prompted by God the Holy Spirit to surrender to him.
Most of my writing in 2025 has centered around that theme.
Verse three begins by saying, “Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty.”
I like the picture The Message translation paints in this verse.
I imagine someone holding on for dear life, white knuckled, eyes focused, the tip of their tongue positioned out of the corner of their mouth.
What are they holding onto so tightly?
Love and loyalty.
I find it interesting that so many of the new-making headlines of 2025 deal with hatred and anti-loyal sentiment.
The recent murder of Charlie Kirk is only the latest example.
Why would God say not to lose your grip?
Your grip presents the part you play in this portion of the text.
A strong grip signifies a strong relationship, while a loose grip signals potential trouble.
For example, the unfortunate tragedy of Charlie Kirk has revealed a lot of hatred across the land and around the globe.
“Love your neighbor” has turned into silencing them at any cost if you disagree with them.
Respecting your fellow human is limited to special interest groups (as long as they agree with your opinion).
An old saying goes something like this: repetition is the mother of learning.
In other words, if you hear something enough, you begin to believe it (whether it is true or false), and there has been so much hatred plastered across the internet that, unless you are holding tight, you are likely to believe it.
This is remarkable, given that love is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. But Jesus did say,
“I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”
Luke 18:8 The New International Version
This passage of scripture used to trouble me, because I could not see how that would happen. However, when you consider how impactful words are and the amount of negativity we hear daily, I understand how it can affect a Christian who has only a casual relationship with God.
A point of clarification
I use The Message Bible because I like the pictures it paints in my mind (as mentioned earlier).
Here are five translations of Proverbs 3:3. Each verse is saying the same thing using (slightly) different words. I am not saying they are wrong, and The Message is right. I am only saying The Message paints a clearer picture for me.
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee—King James Version
Never let loyalty and kindness leave you!—New Living Translation
Let love and faithfulness never leave you;–New International Version
Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;–English Standard Version
Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you.—Christian Standard Bible
I also bring this up because The Message uses the word “loyalty,” while the other translations use truth and faithfulness.
Loyalty carries the idea of commitment and dedication.
When you are loyal, you are faithful to do what you believe to be true because of the love you have for the one you are loyal to.
This is an act of surrender, because you are willingly letting go of something you once held as necessary (your way) to follow someone you believe in (in this case, Jesus).
When Jesus said, “Will I find faith when I return?” it speaks of a lack of loyalty, and such a lack comes when love is lost.
Suppose you do not lean into a close personal relationship with God and are constantly bombarded with negative, hateful language. In that case, you begin to doubt the love and slack off on being loyal.
In other words, you pick up the life you surrendered to God.
This is why the last part of verse three is so important.
It speaks of a close personal relationship.
“Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart.”
Keep love and loyalty close to you, as near as your heart.
If you take your heart for granted, you could die. The same is true if you take love and loyalty for granted.
You begin (or return) to do, say, and see things that will damage your relationship with God. Just like a steady high-fat diet can lead to heart disease, so can a steady diet of bad company and hateful words lead to a fractured relationship with God.
The Solution
Don’t lose your grip on love and loyalty.
Admit it when you need help and find it in your community of believers.
Stay connected to your community and avoid becoming isolated.
Lean into God through his word and prayer.
The call of the Spirit is going out across the land for light bearers and (wisdom-speaking) truth givers to bring the words of life to a lost and dying world—one person at a time.
The journey is exciting and scary, and I am grateful to everyone willing to follow along as I take it.