Do not be Yoked

Daily Scripture Threshing for Today, Thursday, August 7, 2025

Today's Text: 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 6:14 (ESV): "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?"

If you were a farmer, would you try to plow your field with two different animals of incomparable strength—one being strong and the other weak, or one fast and the other slow? If you do, the result would be chaos, frustration, and at the end you might have an unplowed field. This analogy will help you understand the context of 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. Paul was concerned about the issues of incompatibility, purpose, and the need for believers to avoid being unequally yoked with unbelievers. Mark the apostle's words: it's unequal yoke when believers form close relationships or partnerships with non-believers. The partnership is a risk and the outcome will always be unlimited liability.

Such affinity can lead us into compromising our faith or values. The metaphor of being "yoked" refers to the practice of pairing two oxen that possess potential equal strength together for plowing. When believers partner with unbelievers, it's like yoking oxen with a donkey. Such unequal partnerships would hinder spiritual growth, drag the one down and lead it astray. The rhetorical questions about the compatibility of righteousness with lawlessness and light with darkness emphasize the fundamental incompatibility between good and evil. Thus, the apostle urges believers to prioritize their relationship with God and stay clear of anything that debars spiritual integrity. God wants us to be mindful of the influences and associations in our lives. He wants us to ensure we align with and support only things that promote our faith rather than those that may undermine it.

Let this mind be in you as a believer: you have a new identity and a unique relationship with God that demands a corresponding lifestyle of holiness and separation from the world's values and practices. While interaction and ministry to unbelievers are important, close alliances that compromise faith or draw one into possible permissiveness and compromise are to be avoided in order to maintain a strong relationship with God and honor His dwelling presence. This separation is not about self-righteousness. It's about recognizing the profound difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world. Why not ask God, today, for the strength and courage to separate yourself from anything that would compromise your faith or lead you away from God; and pray for wisdom in choosing friends, and business associates who will encourage your walk with God.

Action Steps: Examine your close relationships, business partnerships, and commitments. Be prepared to set boundaries in relationships where there is a constant pull away from God. This may require difficult conversations, but it is necessary for spiritual health. Actively seek fellowship and community with other believers who will help you to be sober, encourage spiritual disciplines, and strengthen your walk with God.

Quote for the Day: "Just like no wise farmer yokes an ox and a donkey together to plow a field, no believer yokes himself with unbelievers and risks the compromise of their faith." (Simon Olatunji #quotablequote)

Let Us Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for calling us out of darkness into Your marvelous light. Grant me the wisdom and courage to not be yoked with unbelievers in ways that would compromise my faith. Help me to honor You with my life, my relationships, and my choices, and to seek out those who will build me up in my walk with You. In Jesus's most glorious name. Amen.

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Thank you for being part of this journey. For additional reading on today's meditation, read: Ephesians 5:11, Proverbs 4:14-15, and 1 Corinthians 15:33.

With all my love and prayers,

Rev Simon Wale Olatunji, Ph.D.

Your Darling Bishop (DaBishop)

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