Unequally Yoked

 2Corinthians 6:14-16a, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God…”

This is one of the scriptures my small group discusses Sunday night. We applied it to marriage. One of the brilliant members of the group expounded a little on the illustration of being yoked. If there are two animals yoked and one is significantly weaker, then the animals will only move in circles and not make progress. That is an interesting picture.

We also discussed if we are equally yoked with a believer in marriage that it helps us by having:

  • the same motivation
  • the same basis of authority (scripture
  • the same perspectives of self and sin
  • the same help from God to help us grow

What are some other advantages to being equally yoked?

This Sunday you will love the teaching. It is going to be way cool, so be here and invite a friend!

Dave

Posted on Tue, January 24, 2012 by Dave Bennett

5 comments (Add your own)

1. Nancy wrote:
I like to think about being yoked as you described, in terms of toy tops (do I have the right word?). If you take one top and spin it on a tabletop it eventually spins in a circle. If you add a second toy top, it alters the relationship as it bumps into the first top thereby changing the relationship just by presense. If you remove the second top, the first one will go back to spinning in a circle, like it did before. I used that visual in terms of my relationship with my sister, that my presence alone, (as the second top) will alter her just by being there spinning together and that will work in any relationship; we are changed by others and them by us...

The picture above was hard for me because someone in the relationship has to be the donkey.....

Tue, January 24, 2012 @ 2:57 PM

2. Mirinda wrote:
Great visual for premarital counseling!

Tue, January 24, 2012 @ 6:30 PM

3. Mirinda wrote:
same goal in raising children

Tue, January 24, 2012 @ 6:31 PM

4. Dave wrote:
Great comments..... I think there are times I have been the ox and other times I have been the donkey in relationships. Nancy- although the donkey wasn't intended to refer to anyone as a (you know).... the hope is that when we are yoked to a much stronger person that we are challenged, stretched, inspired, open to the Holy Spirit to transform us. I can't say I have always responded that way but I am hoping to do continually better.

Wed, January 25, 2012 @ 9:05 PM

5. Wendy wrote:
Being equally yoked is empowering. It should only take half the energy to accomplish something if both people are giving the same. My image for this is the 3-legged race. If you communicate with your partner and each listen, you can coordinate the steps and easily get to the finish line. Sure, it's possible to try to get to the end without a lot of interaction. But that is much harder, more frustrating, and a waste of energy. God is the two legs that are tied together- what needs to be focused on. If He remains the focus, the other legs will follow and easily move forward.

Sat, January 28, 2012 @ 11:26 PM

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