On Yokes

      I rarely just drive or think only about my route and the current traffic; my mind is also simultaneously busy admiring the scenery, singing along with music, considering what to make for dinner, or spinning stories--often ending with my saving the universe (or a kingdom or a town or a person). . . . But I digress.  (Though, can one digress when one hasn't quite begun?)

      As I drove home from tutoring yesterday, I contemplated the verse, "Do not be yoked with unbelievers" (2 Cor. 6:14, ESV).  I usually hear this verse used in talks to singles to exhort them to marry other Christians, although the context of the verse mentions nothing about marriage or choosing marriage partners.  That doesn't mean it's not a wise principle or that the verse is not applicable for marriage.  It does seem to echo several other verses (ESVonline links the verse to Deut. 7:3, Josh. 23:12, Ezra 9:2, and Neh. 13:20) that do refer to not mixing maritally with unbelievers.  However, I've contemplated that application of the verse plenty in the past, and this particular time I contemplated it from a different perspective: as regards any partnership between Christians and non-Christians.
      In this sense, this Second Corinthians verse also brings to mind Philippians 4:3 where Paul refers to another believer as "true yokefellow."  It also echos chapters like Ephesians 5, which refer to not becoming partners with the sons of disobedience.  Upon contemplation, it really is a recipe for trouble.  As I drove, I got this picture in my head of two oxen, yoked together.  If one follows the commands of the Plowman and the other wants to go his own way, they likely won't make a straight furrow; two people in business or working on a project who aim for different goals--to keep the parallel, one following the boss (or Boss) and the other following his own way--likely won't make efficient progress nor necessarily reach either goal.  In a worst-case-scenario, the non-Christian could even lead the Christian astray.

     Well, if I'm honest, that neat summary isn't quite what I first envisioned.  I first pictured this more humorously as a Children's Moment lesson: two people coming into the sanctuary wearing a yoke with a guy behind them trying to direct them; one "oxen" stops and starts, dragging his fellow hither and thither, saying, "Oh, I wanna eat that grass," or "Hey, I've been meaning to talk with that person," or "I'm not moving another step," or "I'm sick of this--let's go home."  The other "oxen" continually pleads, "hey, the boss says we need to go forward!"  Alternately, one "oxen" could be ridiculously tall and the other a child.  Since few farmers use yoked beasts to till their fields in the States nowadays, I feel the visual demonstration carries more power than the words alone, clearly demonstrating the trouble awaiting those who enter unequal partnerships with unbelievers.
      In bringing this up, I don't mean to suggest that Christians and non-Christians cannot or should not associate; even if we're not of the World, we still live in the World, so we must expect such interactions.  (See 1 Cor 5:9-13.)  Furthermore, part of the average person's witness is letting non-Christians observe their imperfect but redeemed life.  A close partnership, however, puts us too much under the influence of the World; just as with Christians married to unbelievers, Christians partnered with unbelievers may be led by degrees into sin, lessened fellowship with the Lord, or heartache.  As 1 Cor. 15:33 says, "Do not be deceived: 'Bad company ruins good morals.'" 
      Now, where does one draw the line between necessary and fruitful acquaintances and unequal partnerships?  That's for the Plowman to decide, I suppose, so if we intend to follow His direction, I reckon we'd better listen well.  Beyond that, I won't venture to advise.