Counsels on Relationships

Counsel #6 — “Unequally Yoked” Unpacked

Picture: Counsel #6 — “Unequally yoked” Unpacked CR 61.1

Usually the phrase “unequally yoked” refers to a partnership in which one member is not a follower of Jesus and the other is, but it means more than that. To have the largest potential of success in a relationship, couples should also have similar levels of education, similar ideas about how to manage money, a shared philosophy of child raising (if they ultimately marry and choose to have children), similar goals in life, and even somewhat similar recreational preferences.^[60] CR 61.2

Dating someone from a different culture or background is not a sin. Expectations and traditions that result from cultural contrasts, different ethnic backgrounds, or varying family dynamics will require extra effort, patience, and love to navigate. CR 61.3

“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14 NKJV CR 61.4

“Satan is busily engaged in influencing those who are wholly unsuited to each other to unite their interests. He exults in this work, for by it he can produce more misery and hopeless woe to the human family than by exercising his skill in any other direction.” Ellen White in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 248 CR 61.5

Reflect: If you’re dating, ask your parents and/or other trusted counselors and friends if they think you are “equally yoked” in your relationship or if they see red flags? CR 61.6