(2 Corinthians 6:14)
Being equally yoked. After 9 years in the ministry, preaching in over 500
churches of every denomination, producing programming for the last 5 years
for Christian television stations all over the country, I have personally
prayed for and counseled hundreds of thousands of people. Through this, I
have seen some of the great warnings in the Bible ignored, thus causing
incredible personal suffering and destruction of lives. As believers, we
are so quick to cling to God's promises in our hour of need as we should,
but
God also put many warnings in His word that we sometimes gloss over and
ignore.
One of those warnings is not to be unequally yoked with nonbelievers. Some
have taken this passage to unreasonable lengths, but let me give you my
interpretation of this scripture and hopefully help you avoid unnecessary
heartache and pain in your life.
I believe this passage talks directly about those intimate
relationships we have in life. So many email requests I get daily are
from men and women who are married to unbelievers and going through so
much turmoil. Let me say this up front. If you are married now to an
unbeliever, this does not mean to get a divorce. You have already missed
the warning
and entered into a covenant relationship that God expects you to honor. God
may
be able to use you to bring that unsaved spouse to Christ. But if you are
not married, getting married with an unbeliever is spiritual suicide. Love
is fine, but what about what God says? If you need to see what a closed
door looks like, this is one. Now, if that person comes to Christ, it is a
whole
different story. Dating? No problem. Again, you may be the Godly influence
in their life and God may be using you to touch that person's heart. But
marriage? Unless you just want to roll right through God's roadblock, which
you have the free will to do, you are just asking for trouble.
Outside of the marriage issue, I am not a literalist. I do believe if you
go into business with someone, they should be of like faith. The people you
do
business with in the course of the day though, will be difficult to limit to
just people of faith, though some do and that is fine. Where you shop,
where you recreate, the products you use, I personally feel to try and fit
that in
this scripture is taking it to an interpretation that is not meant in it's
context.
I want to pray for you today to really pray about your relationships in
life, and keep this warning from God in your mind. God is in the blessing
business. Sometimes though, it requires some patience on your part. He
won't let you
down, and His timing is ALWAYS perfect. My prayer is that you take notice
of this warning, have the strength to listen to the Lord, and give God a
chance
to work in your life His way, on his timing. Trust me, if you do, you will
avoid so much pain and be so blessed, because when you live God's way, it is
better than anything you ever hoped or dreamed of.
