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Together in Christ: 'Quit Playing in the Gray' — 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 Saturday, June 8, 2024 Don't team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? — 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 NLT Key Thought The image Paul uses here is missed a little by our translation: "Don't team up with those who are unbelievers." While our translation hints at the image, the phrase "unequally yoked" [1] in other translations makes the image more specific. Old Testament law did not allow a donkey and an ox to be yoked together. [2] Rather than working in tandem as partners helping each other, they would work at cross purposes because of their anatomical differences. Eventually, this "unequally yoked" partnership breaks down both animals. Good and evil cannot be partners. We must stay far away from and flee every hint of evil and immorality. [3] We can't be in close partnership, intimate relationships, or abiding alliances with those who will lead us away from our Lord. We should seek to join with other believers who will build us up and encourage us in the Lord. Unfortunately, many of Jesus' disciples have ignored this command and have been led away from their wholehearted devotion to Jesus. Paul is clear: Our closest relationships, our most important partnerships, our enduring alliances, and our deepest commitments must be made with people who share the same values and answer to the same Lord! [1] 2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV. [2] Deuteronomy 22:10 NIV. [3] 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, 5:22; Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 6:18, 10:14; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22. TODAY'S PRAYER Dear Father, please keep me close to friends in this world so they can see my commitment to You, but help me discern if they are leading me astray rather than me leading them to Jesus. I want my closest friendships, deepest relationships, and long-term commitments to be with those who share my values in Jesus. Use my life redemptively, but I ask for wisdom from the Holy Spirit to recognize when I am beginning to compromise my values and I ask for strength from the Spirit to have the courage to step away from any partnership with evil. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. RELATED SCRIPTURE READINGS 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 1 Corinthians 6:9-11