Just Say No #2

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 Cor 6:14-15, NLT)

I am pretty sure that most of us, if not all of us, have a relationship with an unbeliever or numerous unbelievers. And I am willing to bet that some of those relationships are toxic, producing works in us that are contrary to the word of God. I know for myself, I have been in relationships with non-Christians that always seemed to lead to me having to compromise my Christianity or disregard it altogether. Some of these relationships have been with people I considered to be my closest friends, people I cared about and had feelings for. People, some of whom I loved and I thought loved me.

Because I had these feelings I was in a perfect position to believe the lies the enemy was telling me and is probably telling you this very day. Lies that convinced me I needed those relationships. Lies that told me I needed to be concerned with how people would react, how they would feel, how they would look at me, what they would say about me, and even what they would do to me if I ended the relationship. I believed lies that told me my loyalty to the people I pledged it to was more important than my submission to my God to whom I'd pledged to give my life. And because I believed these lies I languished, in some instances for years, in relationships that were detrimental to my testimony and witness.

But now I see those lies for what they were, ways for the devil to keep his hold on me and to keep me from fully becoming the man God created me to be. Today I have found love, joy and comfort in Christ. I now find my sense of belonging in the one who gave his life for me. In him my needs to be liked, to be accepted, and appreciated are met and fulfilled, and because of this I have found the strength to just say no. And not only do I say it to the sin that the sinner (unbeliever) would attempt to entice me into committing, I say it to the relationship altogether.

Daily I am using the strength provided by the Holy Spirit to say no to relationships that are contradictory to the life my God has commanded me to live; it is my sincerest desire and prayer that anyone reading this post who is going through what I have gone through finds the strength to do the same. And don't misunderstand me. I am telling anyone that they have to end every relationship they have with someone who isn't Christian. We as Christians have a duty and responsibility to unbelievers to witness to them, to testify of the greatness of our God to them, to love them, to pray for them, and to desire for them the salvation God has so graciously extended to us.

But, what I'm saying is this: if you are in a relationship with an unbeliever that always seems to produce works in you which are contrary to the works the Holy Spirit is trying to produce, you should definitely end that relationship. And of course, we should do it in love and humility. When you have done it in this manner, then don't worry about how that person or the people with who you have the relationships are going to feel. Don't worry about what they are going to do, say or think. Only care about how your God feels and what he is going to do, say and think. Please don't, under any circumstances, worry about things you stand to lose by ending those relationships because that just becomes a stumbling block. Listen to and believe these words because they are the truth. Anything you stand to lose is really nothing at all. Jesus can and will replace those things and when he does they will be a way better version of what you had before.

So, this day, if you find yourself to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever or unbelievers just say no to those relationships. Replace them with relationships with people of like minds and beliefs. Don't allow yourself to be pulled or led away from your God because of a relationship with a person you think you have to have. Let it be the other way around. Allow yourself to be pulled and and led away from the unbelievers because of the relationship you have with your God which you know you need more than anything else in the world. Today, just like we said yesterday. just say no.