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.

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

  1. Jimmie O’Hara

    I have found that it is rare these days – modern times – that anyone supports the family and recognizes the true value of family in the formation of a good person. We tend to believe we are above that most basic – unnecessary – human condition. So, with that in mind, I want to say thanks to Gen. Doug Satterfield for giving us Rule#22 Be Loyal to Your Family (and I will add, regardless of whether they are loyal to you). This is how humans will continue as a species no matter what the political Lefties have to say about it.

    Reply
  2. Yvonne

    No loyalty to family means you are incapable of loyalty to anyone. This is why so many young folks today are fearful of their own lives. They reject their parents and children. They embrace evil in their hearts and revel in sadness.

    Reply
    1. Ronny Fisher

      Yvonne, yep, no loyalty means you are going to crash and burn and there will be no one to pick you up or even consider helping you. Family is it, after God, of course. And Gen. Satterfield lays this idea out very well for us. Don’t ever reject your family because if you do, you are just DUMB. Or reject your children or parents. That makes you DUMB also and the entire world sees you that way.

      Reply
  3. BillZD

    If you cannot treat your family with respect, then you have done wrong. Relook at yourself. Family is all things.

    Reply
  4. Julius Caesar

    I’m new to your website, Mr. Satterfield, but just wanted to tell you and others here that I love the way your site is laid out, and the simple design, easy to follow, and helpful. I do plan to help spread the word on your site and I also hope to read your book, “55 Rules for a Good Life.” This book is mentioned often by those who regularly comment. I’m in. Happy Thanksgiving Day.
    🦃 🦃 🦃 🦃

    Reply
    1. Nick Lighthouse

      Welcome Julius, I think you will find this forum a useful place of ideas.

      Reply
      1. KenFBrown

        Yes, welcome to the place where ideas and ideologies are dissected and discussed. Plus you can comment without vitriol or nasty pushback on what you think (put into writing). I have discovered ways of thinking that I would never have known if I’d not read these pages.

        Reply
  5. Rev. Michael Cain

    Bless you, Gen. Satterfield for your position on family. Too many people reject family as unnecessary. 🙏

    Reply
  6. Joe the Aussie

    Regardless of your status, wealth, background, race, sex, or country of origin, your family is what makes you. Gen. Satterfield is spot on with this rule #22. And he quotes the Bible as well that acknowledges the import of our family. And while there are a few of us who lost their family thru tragedy or accident, it does mean you can’t restart your family. Find a good mate, treat them properly and politely. Start anew if you have no family because the only way to live right in your old age is to have family there with you.

    Reply
    1. Jung Hoon Kim

      Cheers mate. Great to hear from you again and you are absolutely correct.

      Reply
  7. TysonBenson

    “Modern” men and women will think this advice— in the form of a rule — is antiquated or unnecessary. They are giving up happiness in their lives. And one day, they will wake up and realize they threw away their only chance because they believed the lies told to them by their liberal teachers and whacked friends. So sad, but they can’t say they weren’t warned.

    Reply
  8. Liz at Home

    Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Get “55 rules for a good life” and you will thank Gen. Satterfield for putting this book together. ❤️

    Reply
  9. Pastor Jim 🙏

    Gen. Doug Satterfield has written a book that digs into those patterns of behavior that make for a “good life.” I do give my recommendation, like Gen. S. does for his book. It includes, obviously, 55 rules that are proven ways to live better. This is the very BEST collection of these I’ve ever run across in a single book. Don’t delay for this upcoming holiday season. Get a dozen copies and give them out to family and friends, along with more traditional gift items. So, for today ….. HAPPY THANKSGIVING ….. and get ready for Christmas and the end of 2024. Prayers to all 🙏 .

    Reply
    1. Joey Holmes

      Well said, Pastor Jim. It is good to read your comments. And I too hope and pray for a wonderful Thanksgiving for you and your family.

      Reply
  10. E.T.

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

    Reply
  11. Mrs. Elicia Horowitz

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

    Reply
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. SWEENEY

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

    Reply
  15. 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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