2 Corinthians 6:14 starts out with, “Do not be yoked
together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in
common?” This is a different subject to look at. Often I have this question
asked of me when it comes to marriage. This section of scripture in 2
Corinthians 6:14-7:1 goes so much more then just marriage, but it’s a tough
question that I have had to look into with some couples I have talked to about
marriage.
Years ago there was an article and lawsuit that dealt with
this subject. There was a couple that was deeply in love and wanted to get
married. The wife was Jewish and the husband was Catholic. The husband being so
in love said, hey it’s the same God and he rarely went to church anyway so he
converted. They got married and had a baby before the marriage hit the rocks.
Soon divorce was inevitable.
As they were going through the divorce the husband started
to go back to the Catholic Church. Soon pictures showed up with his child being
baptized. The wife was ticked. She filed a lawsuit against him and tried to get
him from being able from seeing his child because he promised to raise their
child Jewish. What a mess and confusing situation. I never did find out the
results of this story, but it happens from time to time. When two people don’t
see things the same way, problems can happen. Now this scripture goes beyond a
marriage.
This scripture goes into life with false apostles. There
were people that were distracting Christians from serving and praising Jesus.
Paul NEVER mentions that Christians shouldn’t associate with unbelievers.
Christians interacting with people is an everyday aspect of life. What Paul
brings up is if a person associates a lot with an unbeliever, it might mess
with their devotion to Christ.
In this section Paul asked self-reflection questions about
this in verses 14-16. This is to show there are some major differences that
need to be address and looked upon. Paul end this section of scripture with
talking about getting us to purify ourselves from contamination and trying to
be holy out of respect to God and what he did through Jesus.
So when we look at the beginning question about marriage,
there are some problems when looking at this subject. I prayed with some older
ladies who are some of the most dedicated Christians I have ever met and there
spouse won’t step foot in the Church. I have seen these ladies in tears and
crying knowing at any moment one of them could pass away and they are not sure
if the spouse will be in heaven. It’s tough and I don’t have an answer for that
other then prayer.
In pre-martial counseling we look at this subject. We talk
about how we want our kids to be raised and if problems could come up in this
area. Would they have a problem if their kids were raised different then how
they were? Communication must be key.
Just because someone is an unbeliever doesn’t mean they are
an awful person. I have seen Non-Christian parents be loving, caring, great
people and some of the best parents I have ever seen. I have seen marriages
where the couple have been together like this and have great marriages. Some
are the best marriage examples I have seen are from a couple like this.
Eternal life is the problem. If one of the people in the
marriage is not Christian, they won’t both be in heaven. This is scary to me.
To know people I love with all my heart might not be in heaven. I would hate to
see that happen to a loving couple and I pray that people know Christ so they
won’t have to deal with the problem that ensues. Each of us will have to face judgment
one day and it’s going to be whether we accept Christ or not. I would hate for
amazing couple to be separated for eternity.
Have a great day.
