I worked for a boss who had a tremendous amount of respect for me.

He had a cook. Her job was simple. Breakfast at 7. Lunch at 1. Dinner at 7.

But simple jobs often tend to be not so simply carried out. My boss' taste was quite labile. But so was her cooking.

There were good days--days he praised her cooking. He felt she was worth his money. And just when she thought she had mastered his flare for thick egusi and soft beef, he becomes her nightmare. The food stops being made well. He goes on a visceral tirade. This time, maybe it's the oil!

Things spiralled in a sour direction and he wanted to fire her. I volunteered to help fix the problem. Others did too. He wouldn't bulge.

His reason was simple. When you want to fire a cook, don't renege on that. If you do, you might end up being poisoned by that cook. It was a sentiment I couldnt engage logically so I respected his decision inevitably.

The cook will be fired. I don't want him poisoned.

On the eve of her dismissal, my boss became uncomfortable with the fact that she hadn't sent enough people to beg him. "She's incorrigible and pig-headed!" He began..." This country has young people without the slightest clue on how to fight for their jobs."

I filled my replies with expletives. "Errrm...well...ah"

It was over. She was fired the next day!

I kept thinking why he wanted her to beg for a job he had sworn she couldn't have.

In the mind of my boss, he wanted her to show loyalty to her job and to fulfilling his desire. But he gradually grew dissatisfied from wanting her loyalty. He began wanting her worship. He wanted her to acknowledge her fate in his hands...the kind of reality this cook wouldn't accept.

Sometimes, I see friends who bicker about demanding loyalty.

"True friends follow you no matter what!"

It's quite a catch phrase,you know. Wait until you have a different idea or persuasion from your 'true' friend and see how they say you are no longer loyal.
In the beginning, your loyalty wasn't their desire. It was WORSHIP they craved. And when your devotion to them stopped, you became a betrayer.

Be careful that you are not in relationships that require you to sacrifice your uniqueness in loyalty to theirs. It is worship; the kind no mortal deserves.!