A Christian girl once told Charles Spurgeon, the legendary preacher, that she was about to marry a man who didn’t attend church and made no allegiance whatsoever to Jesus. As any good pastor would do Spurgeon reminded her of the command from 2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
The girl, however, had another plan. She explained that once she was married to the young man she would lift him up spiritually. Spurgeon listened to what she was saying and then asked her to stand on a chair. The girl was puzzled by such an odd request, but she obliged anyway. Once she was standing in the chair, Spurgeon then said to her, “Now you try to pull me up to your level.” She tugged hard on the portly preacher, but no matter how hard she pulled she couldn’t pull him up on the chair with her.
Now it was Spurgeon’s turn. He said, “Now I am going to pull you down, and I want you to do your best to remain where you are.” Well, you can guess what happened. Despite the girl’s best efforts, Spurgeon easily pulled her down from that chair. Then he said to her, “That is what will happen if you marry that man. You won’t lift him up, but he will pull you down.”
The saved and the lost like the ox and a donkey yoked together soon prove different strengths, values, and natures. An unequal yoke in relationships, friendships, or some other partnership is never the intended will of God. May we be careful whom we enter our “-ships” with!