Saturday, July 25, 2009

Unequally Yoked with Unbelievers




I was reading the book "Three Cups of Tea," about Greg Mortenson's work in Pakistan and Afghanistan, after having discussed with a friend the idea of being "unequally yoked with unbelievers".

The "unequally yoked" phrase, as I interpret it, refers to the fact that you can cooperate with someone who believes differently from you, and they may take advantage of the effort you put in, and take their energy elsewhere to accoplish their own goals which may have nothing to do with your own.

I've been considering what that means in terms of the message of Jesus Christ as we see it in the New Testament. Jesus claims that the greatest commandment is to love God, and to love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-40) So what kind of "unbelievers" do we mean when we say unequally yoked with unbelievers?

Greg's work among Muslims in Afghanistan shows us a great many people who love their neighbors as much as themselves. The amount of energy they put into making education possible for young girls, not just their own families but their whole villages and their neighbors' villages and a neighboring country's villages... really has no explanation I can think of except love. I'd venture to say it looks like the kind of love for god and neighbor which Jesus said was the most important commandment.

Consider, then, if Greg were instead in a church in the United States, and thinking to himself about being unequally yoked with unbelievers. He knows he has the option to build schools in Afghanistan, providing much-needed education for young Muslims in a way that has a powerful potential to prevent wars and terrorism. And to empower people in some of the poorest areas of the world to lift themselves out of poverty, too. (see Luke 18:22) Or he could instead put his money and his time into supporting a mega-church, where church resources build grand buildings, hire employees who'll put their resources into nice cars, nice restaurants, movies, maybe a McMansion here and there, and generally do things that are nice, and pretty. So, maybe, not everyone who says "Lord Lord," (Matthew 7:21) or says they're a Christian, is really a believer in the message of Christ? Who are the unbelievers, and in which situation might Greg be unequally yoked?

3 comments:

Bryce said...

I saw your post on the dialogue. Very good questions... here are a couple of my thoughts:

- Christianity in its very essence is love, but The Way of Jesus certainly consists of more than (though does not exist without) loving actions and good deeds. The Way holistically encompasses every situation and every aspect of life. The Way brings peace and reconciliation between persons, as well as between God and people, through Jesus. I think the unbelievers to whom Jesus refers in this passage are those who are not in The Way.
- Certainly not everyone who says "Lord, Lord..." will enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus often talks of people in two groups, believers and unbelievers. So while this next part seems a little modernistic…I’m trying to keep in that vein. Here is the way I see it… Some people do not confess Jesus as Lord and live apart from The Way.
Some do not confess Jesus as Lord but still follow The Way.
Some confess Jesus as Lord and live in the way.
Some confess Jesus as Lord but do not live in the way.
My point: There are different kinds of unbelief. The last group is whom Jesus is talking about in Matt 7. The “unbelievers” to whom believers should not be unequally yoked may or may not fall in the exact same category.

Make sense? What do you think?

This was just a snip of the way I think about these things. Please know that I'm asking your questions right along with you.
Peace to you.

Julian said...

Thanks for responding, Bryce! I love your way of looking at it. (that confessing Jesus as Lord, or not doing so, doesn't tell us whether a person follows the Way of Jesus, of peace and reconciliation, love, etc)

I think many Christians tend to forget, especially, the category of people who follow the Way of Jesus but do not confess Jesus as Lord.

Bryce said...

Good point.
I certainly don't know what to do with friends of mine who fall into that "category". But I also don't think it's my business to guess.
Happy blogging!