Unequally Yoked

“Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭6‬:‭14‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

My dad used to lecture us kids, whether we had an unsaved friend or love interest that he saw as someone who threatened to pull us away from our faith: When you get all cleaned and dressed up in your good clothes and you have a friend that is dirty and covered in mud; they ask you to come play… Are you going to rub your clean off on them or are they more likely to rub their dirty, mud on you?

I used to dread that lecture.. Then I found myself not only sharing my own version of it with my children, but also reaping the consequences of being involved in an unequally yoked relationship.

“For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.” 1 Kings‬ ‭11‬:‭4‬, ‭6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

You know, as I’ve warned my children and the Bible warns us, we must beware of whom we keep company and whom we choose to marry. The sad and harsh reality is, like Solomon, our hearts may be turned away from the One, True, Living God – Jesus Christ, when we are in unequally yoked relationships.

It becomes that much easier to miss a service here and there, until you aren’t attending church at all. It becomes that much easier to miss a typical prayer, until you can’t remember the last time you even talked to God, let alone felt His presence. It becomes that much easier to compromise your standards/morals, until you wake up one day to find yourself engulfed in sin.

Sure, it can be a gradual process. But it starts with the first step we take away from where we were in Christ.

Yes, 1 Corinthians 7 speaks about the saved spouse sanctifying the unsaved. And believe me, I believe in the power of prayer! I know prayer changes everything!

Still, we must heed the warnings in the Word of God, regarding being unequally yoked. The last thing any of us wants is for our hearts to be turned away from Jesus.

*Original image courtesy of KayBee05