"Unequally Yoked"

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?”  (2 Corinthians 6:14-15 ESV)

2 Corinthians is only 18 verses, but as you read it, you will see the importance of Paul’s exhortation, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (v14)

We normally reference this verse when young believers start dating, to remind them that if they commit to spending their lives with non-believers, they open themselves to a world of problems. And I think that is a good application of this verse, but not the only application. All Christians, young or old, need to remember this caution: we should be careful with whom we spend our time.

Scripture convinces me that we need to expose ourselves to non-believers; how else will they hear or see the saving grace of our Lord?  But all too often, we find ourselves encircled by non-believers. WE should be careful that we haven’t “bound together with unbelievers”. As we stop and take inventory of our “friends,” we sometimes see that we have a great imbalance of non-believing friends with whom we spend most of our time.

Paul goes on to say, “… for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” Paul is not saying that unbelievers aren’t nice, kind, and, to a point, supportive people. I know some very nice unbelievers, but I can’t spend all my time around people who don't share my core values. By core values, I mean faith in Jesus and His authority over my life. There will come a point when a non-believer will not, or cannot, understand the priorities that you make in your life. They have a different basis for decision-making; their moral compass isn’t based on Scripture, and they will pull you away from God’s Word.

Understand, I’m not saying that we should not expose ourselves to unbelieving people. We must be among them; we need to show them what living a life of faith is really all about. It’s not about following a list of rules and regulations put out by some religious authority. It’s about living a life of grace, freely provided by our loving Savior. What Paul is saying is that we need to be careful not to let the unbelieving world negatively influence us and pull us away from the Lord we love.

So, every now and then, take a mental inventory and see with whom you are spending your time. With people who love your Jesus and His Word, or with folks who have different life standards than you.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"