Unequally Yoked

Dear Roger,

Is the passage in Scripture that tells us not to be unequally yoked dealing with marriage, business or both? Thanks for clarifying.

Jeri

Dear Jen,

This direction given by Paul regarding this subject is wisdom for the ages. God is not trying to put a damper on whom we may or may not marry—or with whom we may or may not go into business! He just deals with the issue with common Christian sense.

Paul used a metaphor in 2 Corinthians 6:14 regarding harnessing oxen to pull a plow: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.” Oxen were matched as closely as possible in order for them to pull together most powerfully. Large and little oxen don’t match up. Young and old don’t match up very well either—nor do healthy and sick ones.

Proper plowing required two-yoked oxen pulling together with the same gait and corresponding strength—so does building your house. You want your contractor to have only one set of plans. Imagine trying to build a house with more than one set of plans that don’t match up—disaster.

God has a Biblical-blue print laid out in the Bible for a successful marriage. Imagine that you and your spouse are working off of two different marriage blueprints—chaos!

The principles of Biblical economics clearly lay out God’s plan for building a successful business. As a Christian you want to build your business on sound Biblical principles. Can you imagine trying to be in business partnership with a Non-Christian who is working with an entirely different set of values, ethics and business blueprints!

So, yes Jeri, Paul’s command applies to both marriage and business and to any other situation which calls for Christians to “link up” permanently with a person or persons who have yet to surrender their lives to Christ.

Love,

Roger