Unequally Yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14)

Welcome to uh 915 devotional. Uh today we are going to be in the New Testament. Uh we're going to be in uh something that's that that uh really speaks to me because it was a part of my life growing up. It's a part it's a part that impacted and affected my life growing up when when we misinterpret or misunderstand what scripture is. Um and so let me let me give you the the chapter and verse. And so we're going to be in 2 Corinthians and we're going to be in chapter 6 and in verse 14. And so this is Paul and he is writing a letter to the church at Corinth.

Uh major trade route uh big city. Uh lots of idols in this city. Lots of business dealings happening in this city. Lots going on. This is major metropolitan area. And so Paul says he he writes uh do not be yolked together with unbelievers for what do righteousness and wickedness have in common or what fellowship can light have with darkness? And so why does this verse mean so much to me? Uh well when I was a kid I was a star baseball player in my in my uh in my town. Um the the coaches thought for sure I was going to be somewhere as I grew older I would be a professional baseball player or athlete and my mom was uh a spiritfilled born again charismatic Christian and she was following a a pastor out we lived in in Connecticut New England and she was following a pastor out of uh Hobart uh Hobart Freeman out of Indiana.

Uh any rate, he he he g he gave a sermon and he gave a message and he did it based on this scripture. And basically what my mother inferred out of that was that I could no longer be unequally yolked with non-believers. And so in other words, if there were 12 boys on that baseball team, at least seven of them had to be saved Christians or I couldn't play baseball anymore. And of course, I didn't play baseball anymore. um my father never stood up to and I don't hold any of this against my mom and my dad. I wouldn't be where I'm at today. I probably wouldn't be having 915 devotional or my wife or the kids I have or any direction that God gave me.

I don't I don't regret any of it. Um but it's taking the verse out of context. And so so let's talk about it for a minute. We we Does this mean that in today's world that I I'm a golfer. I want to go join a golf league. I don't know the condition of the heart of the 45 people that are in that league. Does that mean that I have to go interview everybody before I can join the golf league? Because I have to make sure that a majority of these these are Christian men who cla not only profess to be Christian but are also practicing their walk or their faith.

Of course not. Did Did Christa ste steer clear of everyone who was sick and needed a doctor? No. He just did the opposite. He went to those. That's where he went. That's where the ministry takes place. That's where souls are saved, right? We we we can't we can't save a soul if we don't go talk to the sinner, right? That's that's kind of what we have to do. And so this verse gets taken or was taken by my mother uh completely out of context. The there was there was no shaping my future having conversations with the kids that were on that baseball team.

We were 14 years old. We weren't talking about life strategies and who we were going to marry and what our careers were going to be. We were we were busy trying to figure out what pitch count we were on. And so there there was nothing there that was going to shape my life. What Paul is talking about here are those people that you tie yourself to. Uh, and the first thing that comes to mind is relationships. If you're on this call and you're single, what Paul is saying is you should probably only be looking at people who are saved as as it relates to you wanting a relationship.

Why? Because if you get someone who's unsaved, it'd be great if you could bring them into the fold. But if but if that's not that's not God's plan, you're going to have a very tough marriage. You're going to have a very tough relationship. You are headed in the wrong direction. Uh when Paul uses this scripture, he he he doesn't reference it in here, but he's really looking back to Deuteronomy 22:10 where what what Moses says is you you shouldn't you shouldn't yoke an ox and a donkey together. They have different strengths. They move at different speeds.

Um they they different things excite them. And so you're never going to be able to plow a field if one is really pulling hard to the left. you're going to be plowing in circles or if one wants to stop because they're tired and the other wants to keep going. And so we kind of have to take a look at that if we're looking at a relationship. And this is where Paul is talking about those things that tie you to someone. Joining a golf league is not tying me to the other 45 men that are on that league. That is not what Paul had in mind. In fact, it's probably just the opposite.

It's probably where I should go because I'm probably going to have an opportunity to be an encourager for 30 or 40 men in that league and what a Christ follower looks like. This is this is what a real Christian is. This is what they act like and gives me an opportunity to be an evangelist if the opportunity arises. What he doesn't want me to do and let's come off of relationship now and let's go business partner. I have a business. what Paul is saying, you probably do not want to be business partners with someone who doesn't share the same faith because just like in a personal relationship, your ideals and your morals can go in different directions.

It doesn't necessarily mean they always will. There's some great there are some really kind and moral and ethical uh business owners and people in general that aren't saved. They're really really good people. In fact, some of those people maybe even have higher ethics and moral standards than even some Christians that I've met, but they're not going to the same place. We know that there's only one way to heaven, and that's with a personal relationship with Christ. And so, we don't want to align ourselves with that person. It doesn't mean you can't go work at a company where they're not a Christian-based organization.

you might want to search one out that maybe that's a better fit for you, but it doesn't mean you can't work there. You're not tying yourself to them. There's not a lifelong commitment. And that's what Paul is trying to say here when he says, don't be unequally yolked with non-believers. He's saying, "Don't tie yourself. Don't be yolked. Don't strap yourself in next to someone with without any way out when they don't share your faith or your beliefs." He goes on and he asks a bunch of questions and I'll let you guys read that on your own afterwards, but he's just making the point in the statement that you can't walk this direction, but then be paired with someone who's walking in that direction.

What does light have in common with darkness? absolutely nothing. But he's not saying isolate yourself. He's not saying stay in your home and don't go out and don't dare go to the mall because there's less believers there. That's that's not what Paul is saying at all. It we we don't we don't get to go to the sick by staying at home. We we have to be out there. We have to we have to live in the real world. Um, but we don't have to be yolked together with someone who isn't walking in the same direction. Christ even says, "I didn't I didn't come to unite father and brother.

In fact, I came to separate them." If if you're not going to if you're not going to be a believer, if you're not if you're not going to accept who I am, then then and your and your but your father isn't doing those things, then you're going to be separated and I'm gonna probably not spend as much time over there. still love my dad, still love my brother, still love my my my, you know, my best friend, but I'm going to probably have to make a decision that that's not where I need to spend my time, that I can't be yolked with that person because they're not walking in the same light or the same direction that I am.

All right, so let's open this up for comments, thoughts, questions, and unmute yourself if you need to if you if you're wanting to talk. I do want to make this point, that if you are in a if you are married right now and you are walking in faith and your and your your spouse is not, this does not mean you get divorced. Of course, that is not what Paul is saying. You you there are uh uh Christ gives us very specific guideline for for for getting divorced. And just because your spouse is not a believing partner is not it. So that's not it's time to to go to get in your prayer closet, your war room, and pray for the salvation of your partner.

It's not time to abandon the relationship. But if you're not married, I'm not. There you go. then you should be looking for that partner who has the same light traveling with light. All right. Anybody else? uh it is important for us to be able to uh head down the same path right and and when we talk about what's important in our lives and if we go through this pray And it's God first, your your partner, your spouse second, your kids third, and then from there you can pick what's important to you. Maybe it's work, maybe it's your hobby, maybe it's exercise, whatever it might be.

But it's God, spouse, children in that order. Um, and that's what scripture aligns with. So there you go. All right. 1971. We went way over. Let's bow our heads. Father, thank you so much for today. Thank you for your word. Uh thank you again for just clear direction. Thank you for putting uh light together with light. It it makes relationships uh wholesome. It makes them so much better. It makes them it makes them what you wanted them to be. And so Father, I pray that we would do that. We we we we spent some time, Lord, talking about the personal side of it, but but we know it goes beyond that.

It goes beyond what and who we're tying ourselves to. And I pray that that maybe this is the day that we take inventory of that. Maybe this is the day where we realize that we are we're soul tied to somebody that's not healthy that that we are maybe unequally yolked in a particular area of our life. And it's time to take inventory of that and it's time to take action on that. So, Father, I pray that if there's someone on here that's listening that they're hearing your word, not mine, that they're hearing your word, Father, that they're taking it to you in prayer.

They're speaking to the Holy Spirit and they're coming up with what their plan and their decision should be. Father, I pray for that. Lord, thank you for today and what you're doing in our lives. Uh that you give us this opportunity that there could be confirmation for someone on here that they've made the right choice. Father, that your Holy Spirit is just speaking that life into that person. Father, we thank you. We love you. We praise you. And as always, in your son Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. All right. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Yes. Wednesday.

See you tomorrow, same time. Thanks, Dwayne. Thanks, Dwayne. Thank you.

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly edited for readability.