| “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers…” |
| —2 Corinthians 6:14a |
When we read through the Bible, we sometimes come upon a passage of Scripture, or an individual verse, that strikes us as somewhat harsh or unrealistic. We may even react a bit negatively to the instruction contained in that passage or verse. Why? Most likely because, in the depths of our beings, the Holy Spirit convicts us about something we’ve done, continue to do, or intend to do. But, when we take a step back and examine the passage or verse carefully, we usually can sense the nudging of the Holy Spirit, Who dwells within us, reminding us that all such passages and verses exist for our benefit. It remains very true that God always has our best interests at heart. So, when we read such an instruction, it is because God wants to protect us from making bad choices. Thus it is with the instruction given by the Apostle Paul in 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?
To fully understand the implications of this verse, we must first look at the imagery that Paul uses. He refers to a team of oxen that have been yoked in order to work together and harmoniously perform a specific task. The yoke demands their cooperation. The yoke is designed to insist that the oxen move forward together, putting equal pressure on the yoke, in order to steer a straight path. So, to apply this verse, we must examine those occasions in life when we must work in total harmony with someone else, in order to accomplish a task. We must pool our talents, gifts, and abilities in such a way that together we can move forward in a straight and true manner.
There are many situations in life where such a yoking becomes critically important. Marriage, for example, requires a man and woman to become fully one in all four human modalities: emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and physically—or, heart, soul, mind, and strength. This oneness does not set aside the beauty of the marriage partners’ individual differences, but absolutely yokes their personhoods in total harmony, so that they move forward very positively in life as one. A couple committed to live in that kind of unity provides a natural and necessary exclusion from any distractions that will challenge the harmony of their relationship. The same concept can apply to business, or any other relationship, that requires partners to proceed in absolute harmony, in order to most effectively accomplish a goal, or satisfy an objective.
Paul, himself a Pharisee and scholar of the Old Testament Scriptures, remembers that God has given specific prohibitions regarding the yoking of animals, as found in the Pentateuch, specifically in Deuteronomy 22:10:
Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.
It is important to note that, in Jewish Law, the ox was considered a clean animal and the donkey was considered an unclean animal. So, beyond natural physical considerations, the rule against unequal yoking also had spiritual consequences. Would the innate stubbornness of the donkey, or its weaker strength, prevent the ox from plowing a straight furrow?
It’s also important to note that the warning from 2 Corinthians 6:14 applies “before the fact.” In other words, if a believer is already yoked to an unbeliever, this warning does not mean that the believer should terminate the relationship. In fact, in the case of marriage, the Apostle Paul—speaking for himself, not the Lord—specifically warns against a person who becomes a believer from divorcing a partner who is an unbeliever, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 7:10-16:
To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife. To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
While most of us have a “Don’t tell me what to do!” attitude, our obedience to God should prompt us to heed the warnings found in Scripture. God has given these warnings for our own good. Before we choose to yoke ourselves to an unbeliever, in order to complete some critically important task, we should carefully consider the consequences, at least to the extent that we have control over the situation.
