The reason why the "unequally yoked" is there precisely as a warning. God did not include that statement to make christians elitists, but to warn christians the situation you be getting into if you go into a relationship with a non-believer.
Firstly, I would address the issue of relationship. Why have a gf or bf? issit for fun? Issit for love? Issit for testing testing? Issit for experience? Going into a relationship needs to have a long term committment. I firmly encourage all couples before going into a boy/girl relationship to have marriage as an end in mind. That DOES NOT mean all these couples will or must get married in the end. It just means that both parties will put in more effort and commiittment into the relationship.
And since it is a long term committment going towards marriage, then one should consider all aspects of the other party. Religious beliefs is a sensitive issue.
Imagine if I, a very staunch christian, decides to have a non-believer girlfriend right now. Every sunday I go to church. 2 days of the week, I need to be in church to practice with the band. For a while, maybe its ok, but after sometime, there will be complaints that I dun spend enough time with her and she can not understand why I want to do all these things. At the girlfren stage, maybe things still can be worked out, but if our end is to get married, then it is going to get sticky. What to put in our house? Should I bring my children to be baptised or let my wife bring to temple to be blessed? What if one day, i decide to serve God in a third world country? Will she understand? Furthermore, in the bible, a couple is ONE, both should come as ONE and serve God. Would she do it?
Maybe people will say, love prevails. But how many times, you see loving couples breaking up because of differences. The fact is that we cant deny human LOVE has limits most of the time. LOVE don't prevail all the time. Since if we know the possible sticky situation we could be getting into if christians were to get into a relationship with a non-believer, why do it then?
Secondly, "unequally yoked" is not meant to discriminate. Dun focus on the word "unequal" but on the word "yoke". Yoke is a long wooden cross beam and two bars down from it fitting snugly over two oxen. The modern day example would be the harness of the shire horses to plough or pull a cart. Thus, to be unequally yoked is to say we are carrying different weights and things on our shoulders. It simply implies that non-believers have on them, a different belief, different directions and values. Thus, since God desires a total committment from christians, it is wise not to enter into a relationship with a person who have a totally different view of God from you.
I would gladly answer any questions on this but would not entertain mocking of any faith or beliefs of the people here
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