Are You Unequally Yoked?

2 Corinthians 6: 14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? (NIV)

 

            Throughout the Old Testament, we can read countless times of when the Children of Israel turned their backs on God and indulged in idolatry. God   purposed for His children to be set apart because they were to be a peculiar people. All nations should have been able to look at the Children of Israel and know about the One True Living God because of the example that was shown. However, time and time again the Children of Israel fell into the same wickedness that their heathen neighbors were accustomed to and therefore, fell out of relationship with God. Each time, they would be punished by God, taken into captivity, and only after becoming enslaved would they cry out to Him for help. Despite God’s mercy, they repeatedly turned away from Him and the cycle was constantly repeated. Could it be that the Children of Israel were in bad association with heathens?

Deuteronomy 7:3-6 Do not intermarry with them, do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will destroy you. This is what you are o do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people, His treasured possession.

            From the above text, we can clearly see that God did not want His chosen people to be like those of the heathen nations. The Children of Israel were to be set apart. Unfortunately, this is not what took place. They began to mimic what they saw their ungodly neighbors doing and therefore, it lead them to be captives when God desired for them to be free. After all, isn’t this what He freed them for to begin with? Wasn’t this why He chose Moses to lead them out of the land of Egypt in order to free them from their bondage?

            Why did the Children of Israel time and time again fall into idolatry? Didn’t they remember the times when God showed Himself faithful in their lives? Yet, this didn’t seem to matter. They desired to be like their counterparts and therefore, lived as the rest of the Baal worshippers and other idolaters did. A huge part of this seems to be due to ungodly associations. Let’s look at the story of Samson.

Judges 14:1-2 Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.”(NIV)

            This is the first instance with the story of Samson that tells about him wanting a woman that was not of Jewish descent. God had instructed the Children of Israel to marry within their own people. However, as in this story, doing the opposite of what God instructed can lead to future heartaches. Samson desired a woman that was from a heathen nation and despite the warning of his parents, he decides to marry her. At the end of this story, she betrays him by giving the answer to one of his riddles to the men who were inquiring of Samson. She was married off to someone else as a result.

Judges 16:1-2 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, at dawn we’ll kill him.” (NIV)

            Here is another instance where Samson is found hanging with the wrong woman, while the people of the city tried to make a trap for him. However, God was still with Samson as he tore loose the gates to the city and left prior to their plan being able to take form. Isn’t it wonderful when God still turns our mess into His good? You would think that Samson would have learned his lesson from being involved with the “wrong” woman, but he still didn’t learn. He had another final lesson to learn which cost him dearly.

            The Philistines by now had learned one of Samson’s weaknesses. What was that weakness? His attraction to heathen women had become well-known. This made him an easy target for their wicked scheme. Samson had fallen in love with a woman named Delilah. He just couldn’t keep his hands off of those foreign women.  In an effort to get the secret to Samson’s strength, they used Delilah to get the secret out of him. Well, that was his downfall. Delilah, finally got the secret to Samson’s strength and it cost him his eyesight, freedom and eventually his life.  

            Well, not all stories end up as tragic as this one did. However, in a sense, the same results can be expected if you bind yourself to people who are not spiritually yoked with you. This is not always about a dating relationship. There are other relationships where it may be unhealthy to be involved in as part of your Christian walk. Are you hanging around people who tempt you to do ungodly things? Do they want you to talk a certain way, dress a certain way, listen to unholy music, go to clubs, etc.?

            Are you finding yourself being pulled back into things that you once left, but in an effort to fit in, you find yourself compromising? Are you finding it hard to stand up for right because of the pressure to fit in? See, we often tell teenagers that they don’t have to be part of the crowd, but adults often find themselves in similar situations.  What about that person that you are dating? Do you think that you can date them because you would be the one to win them over to Christ?

            This is not to say that in some situations, the Christian can be a great influence on an unsaved individual, but are you sure that you can be the strong one? There are many people who started out dating someone or became good friends with someone with the perfect intentions of staying true to their faith. However, they found themselves compromising one thing after another after another. In the end, they were the ones who had be turned out to the devil’s side.

            Many Christians have married unbelievers hoping that they would eventually win them to Christ. However, they found themselves to be filled with years of misery due to their lifestyles going in opposite directions. This is not to say that all Christians are equally yoked. You have some that profess to be Christians, but are only so in name alone. The Bible speaks of this in

2 Timothy 3:5, “Having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.” (NIV) We not only are not to go along with this, but we are not to hang around such individuals. This may seem a little rough, right? I wonder why this was put into the Bible? Could it be that God looks at this as hypocrisy at best? Maybe God thinks that hanging around such individuals could rub off on the other person who is truly professing Christ. Yes, we want to think that our Christian brothers and sisters are not a negative influence in our lives, but I have found that even some that proclaim to be Christians are not conducive to my Christian walk.

            Now some may say, “Aren’t we supposed to be a light unto the world?” Of course we are. Unfortunately, not everyone is strong enough to be a light without being turned out themselves. For example, if you formerly did drugs, it may not be best for you to have the same associations that you did before. Doing so could lead you back into temptation until you have totally been delivered, and no longer have the desire to participate in that lifestyle. Even then, you must tread that ground carefully and ask for God’s guidance in doing so.

            So how are you to know what relationships are best for you? You must test the spirit by the Spirit. Matthew 7:16-20 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (NIV) You must first ask God for discernment. God will never allow you to be led astray if you earnestly seek Him. Then look at the fruit that they display. If you are trying to live a holy life and they are trying to live an ungodly one, then you must make a decision as to if that relationship is for you. This goes for any type of relationship it may be rather it be dating, friendships, or casual associations. Regardless of how much you may want to hang on to a relationship, if God says to let it go, then LET IT GO! Do not try to hang on to it. For everyone door that closes, another one will open. For every person that leaves, 2 more will come. Allow God to guide any and all relationships that you find yourself in. He will lead you and most of all, God is your BEST friend.