Who do you love more, God or family? What if these two loyalties of yours conflicted, which one would you choose? What if a family member asked you to do something contrary to your religion? Or what if God told you to do something that might harm your family?
This is something that comes up both in ancient Greek literature as well as the Bible. In the Bible, Abraham is commanded by God to sacrifice his one and only son, Isaac, despite God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would number the stars (Genesis 15). Abraham responds with loyalty to God and proceeds to sacrifice Isaac according to God’s will before God sends an angel to stop Abraham. Abraham’s loyalty to God is tested during this incident and Abraham’s faithfulness to God, even above family, is proven.
In the story of Troy, which is accounted in the novel that I’m reading, “Cassandra: A Novel and Four Essaysâ€, there are surprisingly two similar examples of this, each occurring on a different side of the war. First, Agamemnon, of the Greeks, is directed by the goddess Artemis to sacrifice his daughter Iphiginea before his fleet crossed the water, in order to ensure safe passage. Agamemnon, like Abraham sacrifices his daughter, showing loyalty to his God over his family. However, he does display regret about his decision, blaming the pressure of his superstitious men and the word of the priest. On the Trojan side, King Priam is pressured to sacrifice his son Paris because he has been fated to be the fall of Troy. However, for Priam, family loyalties prevail and he spares Paris’ life, which eventually does lead to Troy’s fall.
We see that for the Greeks and Trojans both of their decisions ended poorly. However, the account about Abraham had a happy ending! I know that the God I serve has been faithful to me and His people in the past, and that God’s will is always for my good. Thus, I will remain faithful and loyal to Him no matter what, even if that means superseding my loyalty to family.
