Being Yoked: Friends, Dating, Relationships.

I've been encountering something that I never thought would be such a big deal to me. As a Christian in the dating world, I never thought that dating an unbeliever would be an issue. I can understand that some people have an issue with God or are angry at Him or haven't encountered God in a real way yet. The closer I get to  God, and I believe the closer anyone gets to God, the more important this detail becomes. The main verses people use when referring to this are 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. To sum it up, a believer cannot be yoked equally with a non believer. Light has no reason to fellowship with the darkness. When you aren't fully leaning on God, this doesn't seem to make a difference. The more you lean on Him, the more these words make sense.

Another verse I found that makes sense for the dating world of Christians as well as all kinds of friendships and relationships; 1 Corinthians 15:33 "Do not be deceived, "Bad company ruins good morals."" Doing what is wrong or bad is always easier than doing what is right and good. Even being friends with or dating someone who goes to church but isn't saved can be a problem. 2 Timothy 3:5 addresses this. Having a form of godliness but denying the power is to be avoided. Being choosy about who we keep close is good. This isn't to say that you can't have friends that aren't saved or who believe differently, otherwise how would you show the world the light? But the emotional investment you make in people is important to pay attention to.

Lastly, and this is something I don't want to address, but that is so important it really needs it's own post, but I want to be able to dedicate more attention to it later. So in passing, 2 Timothy 2:22 "So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." This is a call to both pursue the fruits of the spirit instead of your own desires and to look for people who do the same. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5. We are to control our bodies and use them for honor. (Summing up here.) And lastly to address this. 1 Corinthians 6:18, "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body." This should hit home so hard for us. The harm is done to ourselves. Not to someone else. In a world and time where sex is everywhere we look, it is in the TV shows we watch, the movies we see, the music we hear on the radio, and in commercials, we are so numb to these verses. They seem almost irrelevant to us. What is the big deal? We don't take responsibility for our sexuality. We see it as something fun. We see it as something that is expected by society. Something that is part of being in a relationship with someone. It is seen as normal to not be married and be having sex. As children of God, it should bother us more than it does. 

I'm not claiming to be perfect or to have all the answers or to be any better than anyone reading these words. But I know that I want to change. When you love God, you want to please God. Not disappoint Him. I want to please my God.

(Adding this in) I will mention that I'm dating someone who is not a believer and have many friends who don't believe as well. It hasn't affected the fact that I'm madly in love with Christ. I can't say they are always the easiest relationships to have or that we always agree on everything.