Let me walk you through my process of meditating on this familiar verse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. (2 Corinthians 6.14)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul never specifies what he\u2019s referring to. We always applied it to marriage, and that\u2019s not bad advice although 1 Corinthians 7 indicates there were a lot of marriages of believers to unbelievers. Some have applied it to business partnerships, which also makes sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s the therefore<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.\u201d Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 6.17 – 7.1, ESV)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But what are we to separate from? Jesus certainly hung around with \u201csinners,\u201d and in 2 Corinthians 5 Paul wants us to be ambassadors. An ambassador has to live in the other\u2019s country. You can\u2019t teach \u2018em if you\u2019re not around \u2018em.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But not \u201cyoked.\u201d So I don\u2019t know yet\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The application comes directly from Isaiah 52.11:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But even that\u2019s not clear. Isaiah 52 is extolling Jerusalem. Then he says, \u201cGo out from the midst of her\u2026\u201d But maybe \u201cher\u201d is Assyria and Egypt? (See Isaiah 52.3 – 6<\/a>) The Lord will rescue his people from captivity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, we might need to think about separating from the values <\/em>of the world. Seth Godin spoke to that on September 4. He observes that marketers work to create unease which will be cured by buying things we don\u2019t need. We need to separate from that. Here\u2019s how Seth starts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For decades, marketers (and politicians) have been working to amplify cultural distress, a hack on our emotions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Not the tragic emotional distress of being unable to care for your kids, find a place to live or deal with trauma, but the invented cultural distress of modern industrialized societies.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the easily created shame of not having a new suit to wear to the garden party, or having to use an old model smartphone instead of the new one. It\u2019s the dissatisfaction of knowing that something \u2018better\u2019 is available, and the invented discontent that comes from the peer pressure of being left out or left behind.<\/em> –Seth Godin, September 4, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Walk away from that! \u201cGo out from their midst and be separate from them\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wow. Maybe that\u2019s the unequal yoke! Trying to compete in the wrong game. Envy and greed are part of \u201cevery defilement of body and spirit.\u201d\u00a0I have a story that illustrates the discontent very well, but this blog is already too long. Stay tuned!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7.1, ESV)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let me walk you through my process of meditating on this familiar verse: Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. (2 Corinthians 6.14) Paul never specifies what he\u2019s referring to. We always applied it to marriage, and that\u2019s not bad advice although 1 Corinthians 7 indicates there were a lot of marriages of believers to … Continue reading Avoid the unequal yoke<\/span>