Do Not Be Yoked with Unbelievers

1 Corinthians 6:14-18

This is a tough passage. Compare any two Bible commentaries on this passage, and you're likely to get at least two positions on its meaning. Part of the confusion stems from the fact that most version of the Bible translate this passage differently. For example, the TEV and Phillips versions specifically talk about not working with an unbeliever. So I want to start by saying that I'm still exploring this passage and this post is not the final answer, by a long shot.

Earlier this month, I wrote about how difficult it would have been for early Christians to do business while not paying homage to Athena or the Roman emperor. That's probably a big part of what Paul had in mind.

But more than that, there's an idea of an unequal partnership here. You wouldn't yoke an ox and a donkey together to plow your field. The animals would move at different paces, pulling different amounts, and they'd probably hurt themselves and definitely wouldn't get your field plowed. The same is true for partnerships between Christians and nonChristians. This passage is often applied to marriages, cautioning young Christians to focus on courting only other believers. But I think this idea of equal partnerships also applies to the workplace. A believer and a nonbeliever see the world in fundamentally different ways. Even a nonbeliever who can admit that serving others is a good idea or that maybe the bottom line shouldn't be the ultimate goal is still a long way from acknowledging God as master of the universe and Jesus as His Son. If you believe that your faith should directly influence who you are at work (which is the point of this blog), then you have to acknowledge the difficulties inherent in partnering with people who see the world in very different ways.

I don't think that means that you can't have any workplace contact with nonbelievers. If you look at the Greek words that Paul uses, they are words that refer to casual relationships. In each instance, the words refer to partnerships where there is a heavy degree of mutual dependence. According to this passage, these are the relationships to avoid--those that put a believer in a position of dependence on someone who has different values and a very different way of approaching existence.

So what to do? How do you function in our heavily interdependent society and not form partnerships with nonbelievers? I have to confess that I don't know. I work with and for people who do not seem to be Christians. I am dependent on them in many ways. Similarly, I've worked with others on projects when I'm not sure about the religious values of the other person. So I don't know what to do about this passage or how to handle workplace connections with nonbelievers. It's something that I am continuing to think about.