Craig Clouston

 Unequally Yoked

January 30

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.

2 Corinthians 6:14

The farmer led the oxen into the stall preparing to put them under yoke for plowing. He laid the wooden crossbeam over their necks. Next, taking the yoke itself, he sent the stave end up through the hole on one side of the beam while his son held the other end in place; he then spun on the wooden nut. 

At that moment, the low-side ox was stung by a bee. Jerking his head and causing the loosely tied cinch reigns to come undone, the ox stepped out of the yoke, causing the full weight of it to fall on the off ox, who twisted its head sideways under the strain. 

The farmer quickly grabbed the yoke, lifting it and relieving the unwanted pressure. His son grabbed the trailing reigns, coaxed the ox back into the yoke, and tightly tied the reigns to the stable cinch. Back under the yoke, the oxen shared the weight of the load.

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When we choose to disobey God’s directive not to become unequally yoked with unbelievers, we expose ourselves to unnecessary problems and heartache. Unbelievers don’t respond the same as believers to trials or difficulties. Unbelievers do not adhere to God’s directives, nor do they care that we do. And when problems arise, a believer can be left with the full weight of responsibility, thereby twisting his neck out of joint, causing emotional turmoil. This diametric opposition can cause broken relationships.

Some of us enter relationships thinking, I can help them believe, and so we go about implementing change in an effort to mold the person into the image we desire them to be. In the end, we only cause or reveal insurmountable barriers.

Only God can affect that kind of change. And His desire is that we leave it to Him and not enter into those relationships unless the person changes. It’s our responsibility to refrain from relationships with anyone who does not follow God’s instruction.

Prayer

“All Knowing Father, help us to steer clear of relationships that are not founded on You. Help us to deal rightly with human desire. Please show us grace when we fail to listen to Your decrees and gently bring us back under Your instruction. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”