First things first. I am a Christian. Unapologetic, a Christian. (Kirk Franklin)
We have all familiar or at least heard the scripture 2 Corinthians 6:14, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Most people interpret this has we should not marry or be in a relationship someone who is not a believer. That is true. But my new outlook on this scripture is focusing on the word "unequally" and looking for equality in all aspects.
In the past, I have not taken this scripture seriously. I’ll admit. I’ll also admit in the end my relationships and my spirit suffered. Since I have been serious about my relationship with God, I have made it a requirement, standard, deal-breaker, whatever you want to call it that any men I date have a relationship with God. The only thing with that is, nowadays so many people are professing to be a Christian and having a relationship with God, but not living like it. And we all know, your lifestyle is a true testament of your faith and commitment. If someone said they are trying to lose weight but you never see or hear of them working out, they are constantly eating junk food, fried food, fast food, and every other food that has contributed to obesity in this county, would you really believe that they were committed to losing weight? Doubt it. Same thing.
Recently, I was seeing a guy (yes ex-bff guy) who I, at first, connected with spiritually. He said he was praying and trusting God to send him his wife. He said he believed in putting God first in relationships and praying together. He said he believed that you should seek God in all your problems. So on and so on. All those things sounded real good. I thought those statements showed that this person was true and had reached a certain level of spiritual maturity. I know everyone says men tell you you want to hear in the beginning, but being the girl I am, I take everything at face value until you give me reason not to.
As our friendship/courtship developed, I began to see this persons lifestyle and actions. Actions: the biggest determining factor for, well, anything. And sure enough, his actions made me question where this person was in their spiritual walk. I was hearing him speak of doing things illegal if his job and financial situation doesn’t improve. I'm thinking a believer knows God will provide for you and meet all your needs and should trust him to do so. I understand that this walk is a process and nothing happens overnight but in the same breath we should all be striving towards greatness and believing and trusting the promises that God has clearly made for us. So finally I asked: How committed are you to your relationship with God? I got the response "I'm working on it. I have faith and I am a believer." Hmmmm......I thought.
My best friend (who is married) once told me when turmoil or rocky times hit with a guy, how he handles it would determine if the guy is husband material or not. As I said in a previous post, when my ex found out about my new relationship or more importantly who it with, things went great to worse. We got tested. “This guy” did not pass the test. When my ex, who happens to be the most immature, childish, drama-loving guy I ever met, decided to spread lots of lies, half-told stories, and false ideas to a lot of “this guy’s” friends, "this guy” really let it get the best of him. He was starting to believe people and let people define what we had. Meanwhile, I’m thinking I thought you said that you had already prayed and sought God in this unusual circumstance before you even decided to pursue me. If God truly gave you confirmation to move forward, who cares what people say when you know what God said. Do you believe people? Or do the trust the seed that God has planted in you? Most true believers will say God’s word over everything.
Moral of this story? The word unequal. Make sure you equally yoked with someone. And not just the generic area of do you believe in God? or Do you have a relationship with God? It’s easy for one to say they believe, harder to trust and have faith. It’s easy to profess things with our mouths, harder to commit to the words you are professing.. The question we should be asking ourselves Do our lifestyles equal? Do we both have high levels of trust in God. Are we EQUALLY ON THE SAME PAGE ON WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD? “This guy” was saying he was a believer and a Christian. So an essence, I was not with an unbeliever since the Bible does say once you profess with your mouth you are indeed saved. But we were not equal, thus making us unequally yoked. We were in different areas of our walk. 2 Corinthians 6:15, a message translation says “Do trust and mistrust hold hands?” I was trusting. He was mistrusting. We shouldn’t be holding hands .
We have all familiar or at least heard the scripture 2 Corinthians 6:14, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Most people interpret this has we should not marry or be in a relationship someone who is not a believer. That is true. But my new outlook on this scripture is focusing on the word "unequally" and looking for equality in all aspects.
In the past, I have not taken this scripture seriously. I’ll admit. I’ll also admit in the end my relationships and my spirit suffered. Since I have been serious about my relationship with God, I have made it a requirement, standard, deal-breaker, whatever you want to call it that any men I date have a relationship with God. The only thing with that is, nowadays so many people are professing to be a Christian and having a relationship with God, but not living like it. And we all know, your lifestyle is a true testament of your faith and commitment. If someone said they are trying to lose weight but you never see or hear of them working out, they are constantly eating junk food, fried food, fast food, and every other food that has contributed to obesity in this county, would you really believe that they were committed to losing weight? Doubt it. Same thing.
Recently, I was seeing a guy (yes ex-bff guy) who I, at first, connected with spiritually. He said he was praying and trusting God to send him his wife. He said he believed in putting God first in relationships and praying together. He said he believed that you should seek God in all your problems. So on and so on. All those things sounded real good. I thought those statements showed that this person was true and had reached a certain level of spiritual maturity. I know everyone says men tell you you want to hear in the beginning, but being the girl I am, I take everything at face value until you give me reason not to.
As our friendship/courtship developed, I began to see this persons lifestyle and actions. Actions: the biggest determining factor for, well, anything. And sure enough, his actions made me question where this person was in their spiritual walk. I was hearing him speak of doing things illegal if his job and financial situation doesn’t improve. I'm thinking a believer knows God will provide for you and meet all your needs and should trust him to do so. I understand that this walk is a process and nothing happens overnight but in the same breath we should all be striving towards greatness and believing and trusting the promises that God has clearly made for us. So finally I asked: How committed are you to your relationship with God? I got the response "I'm working on it. I have faith and I am a believer." Hmmmm......I thought.
My best friend (who is married) once told me when turmoil or rocky times hit with a guy, how he handles it would determine if the guy is husband material or not. As I said in a previous post, when my ex found out about my new relationship or more importantly who it with, things went great to worse. We got tested. “This guy” did not pass the test. When my ex, who happens to be the most immature, childish, drama-loving guy I ever met, decided to spread lots of lies, half-told stories, and false ideas to a lot of “this guy’s” friends, "this guy” really let it get the best of him. He was starting to believe people and let people define what we had. Meanwhile, I’m thinking I thought you said that you had already prayed and sought God in this unusual circumstance before you even decided to pursue me. If God truly gave you confirmation to move forward, who cares what people say when you know what God said. Do you believe people? Or do the trust the seed that God has planted in you? Most true believers will say God’s word over everything.
Moral of this story? The word unequal. Make sure you equally yoked with someone. And not just the generic area of do you believe in God? or Do you have a relationship with God? It’s easy for one to say they believe, harder to trust and have faith. It’s easy to profess things with our mouths, harder to commit to the words you are professing.. The question we should be asking ourselves Do our lifestyles equal? Do we both have high levels of trust in God. Are we EQUALLY ON THE SAME PAGE ON WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD? “This guy” was saying he was a believer and a Christian. So an essence, I was not with an unbeliever since the Bible does say once you profess with your mouth you are indeed saved. But we were not equal, thus making us unequally yoked. We were in different areas of our walk. 2 Corinthians 6:15, a message translation says “Do trust and mistrust hold hands?” I was trusting. He was mistrusting. We shouldn’t be holding hands .
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