Hachiko was born on a Japanese dog farm in 1923. He was an Akitainu, a breed known for their intelligence and loyalty. Hachiko was adopted as a pet by Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor of agriculture at the University of Tokyo. Ueno loved his dog. He and Hachiko became inseparable.

The two fell into a daily routine: Hachiko would walk alongside Ueno to the Shibuya train station where Ueno would hug Hachiko goodbye before he boarded the train to work. Hachiko would then spend the day roaming the train station waiting for Ueno to come back. Local shopkeepers and station workers would keep an eye on him and give him treats while he held his vigil for Ueno. At the end of the day, Ueno would step off the train and Hachiko greeted him with tail wagging. Then they would walk side by side back to their home. This continued for years, and the dog became a popular fixture at the station.

The story of the loyal dog naturally tugged at readers' heartstrings and Hachi quickly became a public icon. The 'ko' was added to the end of Hachi’s name around 1932 to show respect for his devotion and loyalty, and he gradually became known as Hachiko. Photo: Public domain

But tragedy would strike Professor Ueno. One day during work, he suffered a brain hemorrhage and died. Hachiko waited for him to get off the train that afternoon, unaware that he died. Ueno never arrived. So the dog waited. And waited. Every day the trains would appear and so would Hachiko, expecting Ueno to come back. Hachiko never gave up hope and continued to wait every day for nine years for Ueno to return. He slept at the train station and lived off food and treats from the local shopkeepers, station workers and passengers. Hachiko’s fidelity earned him the nickname “the faithful dog.”[1]

Loyalty is something we expect from pets, but get it less and less from people. Scripture speaks of a higher level of loyalty for the Christ-follower. This deep and abiding trust is a lifelong and continuing obligation—a duty to remain loyal for life. We might even say faithful. 1 Corinthians 4:2 says, “Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” Might we have that abiding loyalty, a faithfulness that never gives up, like the dog Hachiko that waited patiently for his owner day in and day out?

Fidelity in marriage, leadership and life is rare. It requires our allegiance to something greater than ourselves. The value of fidelity to a leader is not a loyalty that just serves customers or a company. Rather, it is fidelity to one’s character and values. This is not merely something that we say or pledge, but is demonstrated by living it over years, decades. Hachiko wasn’t a loyal dog because he waited for a day or a week. He was loyal because he never gave up, remaining steadfast for the rest of his life. How might we as leaders express fidelity with our own lives?

Be true. Being true to your word is not only something we expect of God, but also something God expects of us. Numbers 30:2 says, “If a man vows a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” A leader who keeps his promises is faithful first to himself. Keeping commitments is also a way in which we are viewed or esteemed by others. A promise keeping leader is deemed reliable, mature and trustworthy.

People in our circle of influence tend to let us down. It might be something as simple as a missed meeting or deadline. Breaking promises personally also extends to organizations. The global consulting firm Accenture found in a recent survey that 40% of Americans say a company with which they do business failed to keep a promise. And 54% said a company had broken multiple promises, including not delivering on time, adding hidden fees, not resolving complaints and failing to fulfill the obligations of a contract.[2]

Perhaps leaders’ greatest failures in keeping their word is reserved for the covenant of marriage. We all know that more than half of all marriages fail. In divorce, 96% of couples say their marriage ended primarily because of broken promises. A broken promise to your spouse undermines accountability and credibility, shows disrespect, and erodes trust. Breaking promises decreases the key marital facet of interdependence—being able to depend on each other, which is a large part of what makes a marriage special and indeed successful.

To better keep promises, shun excuses. Consider breaking a promise to be a sacred vow, and determine to do everything possible to keep it versus abandoning your commitment at the first opportunity. Then take responsibility when you fail. If you encounter a circumstance where you can’t keep your word, be honest and communicate directly. “I won’t be able to follow through on this. Here’s why…” Consider, too, how to keep from forgetting. Program email alerts, phone alarms or voice reminders to help you remember. Ask your spouse to remind you—and specifically say that you will not consider a requested reminder to be nagging.[3]Matthew 5:37 tells us, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”

Questions: Do you always keep your promises? Are you true to your word? Are you a loyal person and worker?

Be devoted. A person of fidelity expresses devotion in their important relationships. More than simple loyalty, devotion is a love and enthusiasm for others. A genuinely loving husband is often called a devoted man. When we spend time alone with God building on that most important spiritual relationship we sometimes call it a daily devotional. In the example of Hachiko the loyal pet, we often call dogs devotedanimals.

When couples grow apart and eventually divorce, it is a lack of devotion to each other—that loving enthusiasm for your spouse—that is usually the initial sign that something is wrong in the relationship. Devotion is among the vows we make in marriage. Those promises are not just a traditional list of loving sayings to each other. Rather, they are a list of the key commitments of a marriage that have been revealed over the decades to result in a successful and growing relationship. Lack of devotion leads to broken promises—it is the first crack in the integrity of the relationship.

Maintaining and growing in devotion is most readily reflected in spending time with each other. Hachiko spent time with Ueno every day on his walk to and from the train station. Devotion to your wife is time with her, nourishing that relationship by maintaining a personal and emotional connection. “Being devoted shows others that you genuinely care about their interests and well-being. When someone shows their partner that they care about them, they become more desirable as a partner. This isn’t just true for romantic relationships either. Research has shown that children who receive unconditional love from their parents are happier than those who don’t receive this type of love from their parents,” writes Rachael Pace for marriage.com.[4]

Eighty years after the canine’s death, The University of Tokyo initiated a project to build a memorial statue to reunite Hachiko and his owner. You can find it on The University of Tokyo’s campus, just next to Ueno Park. Photo: Japanshopping.com

You can also be devoted in other important relationships, most importantly your devotion to God. Time in the Bible, in prayer and in service to others show devotion to your spiritual foundation. A man who is first devoted to himself and his own interests is not a man of fidelity. Faithfulness and selfishness are oil and water—they cannot exist in harmony with each other.

Questions: Are you devoted to God daily? Do you show devotion to your wife? In what ways does your daily allocation of your time show devotion?

Be considerate. A leader’s considerate attitude motivates fidelity. Fidelity holds another’s interest ahead of your own. If you truly value others’ interests, then you will live and work in a considerate manner. Consider several common marks of consideration:

Show up on time. Value others’ hours by being prompt and not wasting time.
Show empathy. Put yourself in others’ shoes. Avoid judgement and be ready to step out and apologize when necessary.
Show joy. Smile a lot. It lets others know their presence is an encouragement to you.
Show good manners. Saying “please” and “thank you” and opening doors for people are tangible expressions of consideration.
Show emotional intelligence. Learn to read the room and look for ways to meet other people’s needs.
Seek the big win. Intelligently seek positive outcomes for every party. Avoid selfish results that only bring you or your company the result that you wanted.[5]

A loyal and faithful man consistently looking to others’ interests is a mark of a Christ-follower. Philippians 2:3-4 instructs, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Being considerate, as philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer put it, “is like warmth is to wax”. In other words, consideration softens people. Consideration of others makes them more willing to listen to you. It shows them you care about them.

Dr. Travis Bradberry, author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, writes, “One of the huge fallacies our culture has embraced is that feeling something is the same as acting on that feeling. That’s just wrong, because there’s this little thing called self-control. Whether it’s helping out a co-worker when you’re in a crunch to meet your own deadline or continuing to be pleasant with someone who is failing to return the favor, being considerate often means not acting on what you feel.”[6]

Research conducted by Dacher Keltner at Berkeley showed that our brains react exactly the same when we see other people in pain as when we experience pain ourselves. Watching someone else experience pain also activates the structure deep inside the brain that’s responsible for nurturing behavior. Being considerate is also good for your health. When you show consideration for others, the brain’s reward center is triggered, which elevates the feel-good chemicals dopamine, oxytocin, and endogenous opioids.

Questions: Do you regularly consider others’ interests before your own? When something bad happens to someone else, is your first impulse to step away from the situation, or to empathize? Are you usually the first person to jump in line or claim what’s yours, or more prone to hold the door open for others?

Be responsible. Finally, at the heart of fidelity is a personal sense of responsibility. A man who is true, faithful, devoted and considerate is so because he understands it is his responsibility to be. Responsibility is accepting the consequences for what we say and do. In our culture today most individuals are prone to make excuses for their actions or blame others when something goes wrong. A man of fidelity, though, steps up as answerable and accountable.

The Bible has much to say about responsibility. It is inexorably linked to a man’s fidelity. 1 Timothy 5:8 says, “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” A man, then, is responsible for his household and family. Luke 16:10 says, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.” A man, then, grows in stature based on taking responsibility. And Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” A man, then, takes responsibility first and foremost because of his relationship with God.

To be a responsible leader takes a certain degree of bravery. As the EU Business School writes, “It’s incredibly easy to follow trends and obey prevailing ideologies. However, it can also be irresponsible. Sometimes hegemonic ideas need to be challenged for progress to be made. This is the role of a responsible leader, who shouldn’t be afraid to try something new and daring if it could have a positive impact. Responsible leadership doesn’t mean maintaining the status quo. It means taking ownership of a problem and being brave enough to act, even if that action is unconventional or unpopular, to solve it.”[7]The responsible leader steps up and does what he believes is right and what he has committed to, regardless of opposition or struggle.

Perhaps Scottish theologian Sinclair Ferguson expressed fidelity best in saying, “Love is not maximum emotion. Love is maximum commitment.” Indeed this is the example of Christ, who demonstrated fidelity toward us on the cross, and was faithful to follow through on His commitment to His Heavenly Father and to us (John 10:10). Our fidelity expressed in being true, devoted, considerate and responsible throughout our lives expresses both our love for Christ and our love for our fellow man.

Questions: Do you take responsibility for all of your commitments and promises? Are you responsible in your marriage and in your other important relationships? As a leader, are you known for your accountability?

*A monument to Hachiko still exists by his owner’s grave today. Photo: Keisuke Tanigawa*

Hachiko demonstrated tremendous fidelity. He never gave up on his owner and remained true and faithful. The loyal dog died after several years of waiting for Ueno to return to the train station. When he passed, members of the community buried him next to Ueno. Later they erected a statue of Hachiko which proclaimed him “the loyal dog”. If you visit the cemetery you will still find the statue today.

Mark of a Leader: Fidelity

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