Unequally Yoked

I was raised by a man and woman who farmed with horses and mules, so being "unequally yoked" is something I know a little bit about. Even if it was not in the Bible, experience and common sense would support caution about putting two animals (including human animals) in an "unequally yoked" situation.

There are many things that will cause people to be unequally yoked, including religion, race, culture, tradition, economics and even politics. How much such differences will affect a marriage will be determined by the level of acceptance and tolerance each brings to the union. But make no mistake, the more unequally yoked, the more sacrifice and tolerance is required. A fanatical Islamic will find it a hard row to hoe if yoked with a fanatical Christian.

Being unequally yoked can also result in outside variables putting stress on the marriage. Not too many years ago, a mixed black/white union resulted in a myriad of social problems -- not only for the couple, but for their children.

Another example would be a person who grew up in luxury who marries for "love", then later discovers that he or she is just not cut out to live in a trailer park. As any married couple knows, problems can strain a marriage and being "different" from each other in any way can be a problem.

Does all this mean an "unequally yoked" union will not work? Of course not -- but being "unequally yoked" will decrease the odds of success.