Blog

Dec 05, 2025 06:00am

The Hidden Dangers of Unequal Yoking

287 Views

We wanted to win. Our class was highly competitive, and we had to pick the best of the best to win this race.

At the end of every school year, our teachers and staff planned a fun day filled with games, activities, competitions, and school improvement projects. It was called Natural High Day. I don’t know who came up with the name, but stay with me.

It was sixth grade. That year, we had gotten a new boy in class, Andrew. I remember the first day he showed up. It was Halloween. We were all dressed up, and I kept thinking he probably thought we were weirdos.

Andrew stood out with his red hair, but it was something else about him that made him different from all of us.

He was over six feet tall.

To give you a little perspective, I was still about four feet tall. Yeah. He towered over the rest of our class, even the other boys.

So when it came to picking who would run this race, it seemed like a no-brainer. Andrew was athletic and tall, so it seemed like he’d be a shoo-in to win. And I was fast. I was short (still am), but I was fast. We could be unstoppable!

But when it came to a three-legged race, pairing us together would be disastrous.

Can you imagine? He was so much bigger than me! I would never be able to keep up with his stride. For every step he took, my little legs needed to take at least three to four. If you tied us together, he’d not only be dragging me, but we’d end up going nowhere. We wouldn’t even be able to walk in a straight line. I’d be like dead weight on his left ankle. We’d be going in circles.

Not good at all.

Second Corinthians 6:14 says, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.”

Paul wrote Second Corinthians as a letter to the believers in Corinth. He used the reference to yoking because these people were familiar with agricultural practices.

Do you know what a yoke is?

It’s the wooden bar that goes between two animals that have been paired together to complete work. Maybe a plow has been harnessed to their backs, and the farmer wants to disc up the field before planting. He needs extra power, so he chooses his two best cows. He knows better than to choose a bull and a small cow. Why? Because they would be unequally yoked. The stronger bull would drag the cow beside him. The rows would be uneven. They would end up going in circles, and there would be no work getting done.

Paul urged the believers to consider whom they were forming relationships and making commitments with. He was talking about entering into a marriage or business partnership.

But why?

Here’s how it says it in the New Living Translation:

“Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:

‘I will live in them
and walk among them.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
Therefore, come out from among unbelievers,
and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord.
Don’t touch their filthy things,
and I will welcome you.
And I will be your Father,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.’”

Remember, Corinth was full of idol worship. Paul knew what would happen if believers in God married those who worshipped idols. There were numerous accounts of it in the Old Testament, and one thing was sure to come of it—disaster for the believer.

They would be pulled away from God and would give in to worshipping the idols of their mate.

Just like those unequally yoked cows—and like Andrew and me in a three-legged race—there would be no winning. It would be a disaster.

So, what does that mean for us today?

Should we not associate with unbelievers? How will we share the gospel with them? No, that’s not what Paul is saying. We certainly should share Jesus with them. He’s speaking of marriage and business partnerships.

Ok, so does that mean if I’m married and now I’m a believer, but my spouse isn’t, I should divorce them?

Nope. Paul encouraged people to stay together after one had been saved in First Corinthians 7:12–13. Continue praying for them to be saved. Be a light for them. Show Jesus to them in all you say and do.

He was speaking against the marriage of two single people—one a believer in God and one who wasn’t. The most important thing in a marriage is our commitment together to Christ. If one is not a believer, more than likely, faith will become an issue, a barrier, and will create division in your home and hearts.

If our relationship with Christ is the most important thing to us, why wouldn’t we protect it?

Paul also says in this passage that we are the temple of God. The Holy Spirit lives within us. We are the church. And if we’re the church, what kind of message are we sending out to the world on our “sign”?

Listen, I get it. It’s almost impossible to separate yourself completely from things that are worldly. We can’t live in a bubble and protect ourselves from every sinful thing or person. But as you walk through this life, remember who you are and whose you are. It’s not just about fleeing from sin—it’s about drawing near to God.

Every hour I need Thee.

Do you want to know Jesus and learn to follow Him? Go to follow.lifeword.org or follow.lifeword.org/spanish.