"Unequally Yoked"

"They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them: but were mingled among the heathen, and leaned their works." (Psalms 106:34-35)

 I am pretty sure that God gives commands for a reason, and His commands are not suggestions. If there is any way to help us to understand what compromise will cost us, then the lessons of what happen to the children of Israel after they entered into the land should be a good example. It is almost like a plague that spreads from person to person; before you know it, everyone around you is involved with a compromise in one way or another. Unequally yoked does not just apply to marriage, it can apply to all sorts of situations in our lives. Our business partners or those to whom we look to for guidance and direction, not only in the workforce, but in our everyday manner of living. That is why it is important what we let enter into our minds; even those things that we put into our minds can cause us to be unequally yoked, we don't even need help from others. A yoke is something that you are hooked up to, as in what you might be attached to, such as what makes you move, what gives you strength, what takes your strength away; in the world of relationships, there are gives and takes in all sorts of areas of life, so whoever we are hooked up with can have a lasting affect upon our lives. This thing we are talking about here is not so much marriage, although I am sure that there were some relationships that were formed; this is about learning other ways to think, to manage life skills, to even worship; things that cause the human heart to feel connected to another source of power besides the power that is found in our relationship with God. Is this something that enters our churches? I don't think we can truly know how much it actually has. We can see the pattern of what the results are, but knowing what brought it all in, or what caused it to happen, that is something that might have happened over years and years of compromise; so it is hard to pinpoint where it started. In the case of the children of Israel, it is plain to see, because God makes it clear to us in His word: they compromised of destroying all the nations that were in the land. It reminds me of the hawk that I saw pounce on it's prey, they were not vicious enough to finish the work. Can obedience be yoked with disobedience? It does not sound right to me, but what do I know...

""But I did obey the LORD," Saul insisted. "I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal." But Samuel replied, "What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is a sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshipping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."" (1 Samuel 15:20-23) NLT