What Does it Mean to be Unequally Yoked?

As a young boy I continuously heard preachers preach from 2 Corinthians 6:14 which says, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?"  I'm so thankful that God placed people in my life that cautioned me about God's desires for me.  As a result, I sought to find godly friends and date only those who gave evidence of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Today, I truly believe that this verse is disregarded as it was with God's people in the days of old.  What is God's intent with this verse?  Is it wrong to pursue close and binding relationships with those who do not know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior?

The yoke that the apostle Paul was speaking about was a wooden bar that would join two oxen together in order to cause them to work at pulling together on a job.  When one ox was taller or faster than the other ox then it would cause them to fight against one another and perhaps even cause them to walk in a circle.  Being unequally yoked made it so that they could not accomplish the task that they were set out to do.  Instead, they would fight against each other and exhaust one another.

The message that Paul is giving the Corinthian church is not a new concept for God's people.  In the Old Testament God cautioned his people not to make partnerships with their neighboring communities who embraced other gods because their unbelieving neighbors had a worldview that would serve as a snare for God's people (Exodus 23:32-33).  In this verse, Paul is discouraging Christians from being in an unequal partnership with unbelievers because believers and unbelievers are opposites, just as light and darkness are opposites. A non-believer is governed by the principles of Satan until they come to know Christ as Savior.  Two non-believers would not be unequally yoked because they share the same system of beliefs apart from God.  Christians are expected by God to have a biblical worldview concerning all aspects of life.  Being united with a non-Christian in a partnership is being unequally yoked, which God forbids.

Christians and non-Christians have different moral compasses (at least they should have) that pull against one another.  One or the other will have to surrender to the will of the other in order for movement to take place.  Venturing into a business relationship with a non-Believer would be a clear application of what Paul is speaking about here.  Business decisions that are made each day will reflect the worldview of one partner or the other.  As a former business owner I can honestly say that moral judgment is regularly made about matters and not all people agree about the rightness of a decision.  Christians also fail to understand that God never intended His people to be united in marriage with a non-Believer.  In fact, God forbids and cautions His people not to be unequally yoked in this area as well.  Many young people choose to date lost people (and their parents are even  supportive) believing that they can win them to Christ on a future date.  This has been called "missionary" dating.   It seldom ever takes place and they reap the consequences of a divided household or even a Christ-less family in the days to come.  I've also witnessed many times a young person walking away from God and their church as they began dating a non-believer.

We must embrace God's Word when it comes to being united with unbelievers.  Parents must train their children on the importance of only dating those who profess Jesus Christ and give evidence of that relationship through a growing relationship with Christ.