"Do not be yoked with unbelievers..." scripture

[thelord's_pearl]

Oh, course.
I didn't assume that the problem was on his end.
You are VERY fortunate if he is still friends with you. (after what you did to him)
Best to bear that in mind going forward.

/

it was like that even before what I said to him and I don't think what I did was that bad. I was taught not to be close to those who are in the world but I was still nice and caring. You don't sound very friendly.

 

[St. SteVen]

You don't sound very friendly.

If a friend is someone who always agrees with everything you say and never challenges you to grow, then yes, I'm not very friendly.

Perhaps you need to learn what it means to be friends.

I have tons of friends and plenty of enemies. - LOL

You need both to be a whole person. IMHO

/

 

[quietthinker]

You are welcome.

I noticed a Prayer topic where you were asking for prayer about your own loneliness and friendships.
So, this seems to be a topic, that for you, is beyond the scope of your stated OP on this thread.

I remember something my father told me. "If a person wants friends, they mus show themselves to be friendly."

Basically, isolating behavior leads to isolation, and friendly behavior leads to friendships.
But friendly behavior requires a level of openness with others that puts us at risk of being hurt.

Much more to say about this, but I'll stop there.

/

I was friendly once.....then twice.....then three times......now I have an addiction

 

[St. SteVen]

I was friendly once.....then twice.....then three times......now I have an addiction

Hope you learned your lesson. - LOL

Rehab is hard. Sit in a circle and slap the person next to you. (while calling them idiot)



/

 

[thelord's_pearl]

If a friend is someone who always agrees with everything you say and never challenges you to grow, then yes, I'm not very friendly.

Perhaps you need to learn what it means to be friends.

I have tons of friends and plenty of enemies. - LOL

You need both to be a whole person. IMHO

/

Okay. I didn't look into this thread until now as I wasn't feeling very happy and thought you might've written something else that would upset or make me unhappy- LOL but now I read it and what you wrote is fine to me. Let's shake hands and move on.

 

[quietthinker]

"Do not be yoked with unbelievers..." scripture​

I don't mind a bit of yokeling .....and a bit of jokeling......so what will I do with the unbelievers? throw them under the bus?.... tell 'em they got it coming to them?.....and prove it with scripture?

Using scripture as a weapon to show ones rightness doesn't give a flying f.rt about their neighbour.
Scripture used contrary to its purpose plays into the devil's hand.....and what might the purpose of scripture be?

 

[thelord's_pearl]

"Do not be yoked with unbelievers..." scripture​

I don't mind a bit of yokeling .....and a bit of jokeling......so what will I do with the unbelievers? throw them under the bus?.... tell 'em they got it coming to them?.....and prove it with scripture?

Using scripture as a weapon to show ones rightness doesn't give a flying f.rt about their neighbour.
Scripture used contrary to its purpose plays into the devil's hand.....and what might the purpose of scripture be?

definitely I never used scripture merely to show one's righteous but I think it can be a good thing to show a good distinction rather than keep someone unaware of them living in the darkness realm where they can't see and learn from God.

 

[St. SteVen]

I don't mind a bit of yokeling .....and a bit of jokeling......so what will I do with the unbelievers?

We should draw the line at yodeling. - LOL

/

 

[St. SteVen]

@thelord's_pearl and @quietthinker

A gospel presentation should be good news.
Anything short of that misses the mark. IMHO
And that's a TALL order. Don't I know.

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[CadyandZoe]

Hi all,
What does this Scripture really mean, to what extent?
I know that Jesus associated with a tax collector and then left.
He seemed to even answer and associate with the Pharisees and then leaves.
If we have someone in the world we care about who is not a believer yet, can we still help them and be there for them if they're ok with us talking about Jesus Christ, the Lord and His Words?

2 Corinthians 6:14​

14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and lawlessness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

The term "yoked" refers to creating a formal or legal connection with another person, such as entering into a marriage or business relationship, or participating in a fellowship relationship. In simpler terms, it means avoiding any kind of partnership with someone who does not share your beliefs. Therefore, it is recommended not to marry or form a business venture with someone who does not share your faith, and to avoid joining a religious group with non-believers. Those in the ministry should not receive funding from non-believers or accept gifts from non-believers or partner with governments etc.

 

[CadyandZoe]

I don't know. I wouldn't even word it that way. I also said that I would like to be friends and hope to be but that I felt the Holy Spirit tell me that we can't be friends anymore. Maybe I just misunderstood in my learning the Word of God and got the wrong feeling but I think it was the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, it does sound pretty harsh. Hopefully other believers can be of more help. Thanks to anyone else?

There's nothing wrong with being friends with people who don't share your beliefs. However, it's your responsibility to let them know about your beliefs and the boundaries that come with them. Your friends must respect your beliefs and understand that your friendship is based on those boundaries. They should also know that you won't be engaging in any activities that go against the teachings of your faith.

It's possible that the Holy Spirit was warning you about this. Perhaps this particular "friend" is not good for you. I don't know, but I would listen to the Holy Spirit and follow his lead.

Many of us have lost friends under these conditions. Your true friends will respect your beliefs and never insist that you violate your integrity.

 

[CadyandZoe]

How come so little replies on this? This is worth discussing for the Christian life unless you don't know or have nothing to say! Not intending to sound pushy at all or aggressive but just saying the plain truth.
Well, I have read online about this verse I'm talking about, about the two oxen and I somewhat understand more clearly that it's like if one leg is God-centred and the other is worldly, lost and broken and insecure, you're not going to be walking properly.

So as I compare this to the online friend I have right now, if I always am around a worldly person, I as a Christian will always only have myself to lift up myself in a Godly way and my friend will be able to support me only in worldly ways which can feel supportive in that way but is not helpful in the Godly way so it's partly good and the other part is not helpful.

Any other thoughts that can help me see this more clearly than I have just written out and that can help others too? Thank you!

Paul uses a metaphor based on a farming technique where a farmer plows a field with two oxen. The oxen are joined together with a yoke, which helps them work together and pull the plow in the same direction. This way, the full force of their strength is applied to the plow, allowing more work to get done.

Suppose the farmer attempts to yoke a young, strong ox, with an older, weaker ox? What might happen? The stronger ox will pull one side harder than his partner on other side, causing the plow to deviate off course. Another thing that might happen is that the stronger will relax and not work as hard as his partner on the other side.

In practical terms, if a believer is yoked, either officially or emotionally, to a non-believer, the non-believer will pull the two of you off course, spiritually speaking, or you will be fighting to maintain your course, spiritually speaking, or you will stop challenging yourself to grow in the Lord, waiting for your friend to catch up.

It's not that you can't have friends, but it's important to be mindful of who you become closely connected to. Being "yoked" together with someone might lead you away from your faith. In any case, there may be situations where you have to choose between your friendship and your loyalty to the Lord. For those who haven't done this, it might sound easy but it isn't. We develop strong emotional bonds with our friends and breaking off a friendship hurts and seems harmful, injurious, and mean. Paul is giving us good advice for our own sake and for the sake of our prospective friends. It's better to avoid making these kinds of friends in the first place.

But if you find yourself in that situation, be cautious, and always listen to the Lord and the Holy Spirit.

 

[Lambano]

If we have someone in the world we care about who is not a believer yet, can we still help them and be there for them if they're ok with us talking about Jesus Christ, the Lord and His Words?

"Yoked together" implies a certain level of commitment to the other person. It's not possible to define what level of commitment is too much for a given situation, so this requires wisdom and discernment. Which usually comes from making bad decisions...

The verse DOES mean that getting married to an unbeliever is a really bad idea. (Just in case that was "the question behind the question".)

 

[St. SteVen]

The verse DOES mean that getting married to an unbeliever is a really bad idea. (Just in case that was "the question behind the question".)

Probably translates into business partnerships as well. Care should be taken.

/

 

[Lambano]

Probably translates into business partnerships as well. Care should be taken.

/

Good point, though I'm not independent enough to have real partnerships. Just employer/employee relationships.

While just about every company you might work for might be officially neutral regarding religion, unofficially they may be hostile to Jesus Christ, especially when He gets in the way of the worship of Mammon.