The apostle Paul tells Christians
clearly not to get involved on an intimate level with non-Christians.
The idea of “yoking” comes from
farming, where two animals are attached and forced to work together. The
stronger animal will overpower the weaker and the plow lines would go astray.
They must be two animals of similar size and work ethic.
A Christian could be pulled astray by a
non-Christian spouse and led away from their faith. King Solomon slipped away
from the Lord because he had hundreds of wives, many of them who worshipped
other gods. His faith derailed in the end and caused him much confusion and
unhappiness (see the book of Ecclesiastes).
In a marriage, belief and non-belief
don’t mix. We would hope that one with
faith would convince the one without faith to believe in God, but that is never
a promise. It’s more like a possibility
and a risk.
So a Christian should never even date a
non-Christian. This must be a
non-negotiable.
This doesn’t mean we can’t be friends
with non-Christians, but we must make sure that we aren’t pulled away from our
faith as we attach ourselves to their lives through marriage.