Evenly Yoked

I start texting friends sometimes, usually in my downtime... just to see what they're up to. See if they want to grab a bite to eat or something. Yesterday when I asked "whatcha up to?" to one of them, I got a text back: Crying. So I called her up immediately. Her pastor needs to speak to her about why she's dating a man with whom she is not "evenly yoked". Oh boy. Here we go.

Evenly yoked... 2 Corinthians 6:14. 14Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

Since when does a pastor who doesn't even know one of the two know when someone is or is not evenly yoked? Who's business is this really besides the couple and God? Do they truly love one another? Isn't love essentially the greatest commandment anyway? Let's keep several things in mind here... this letter to the people at Corinth as well as the people in Achaia was written by Paul, it seems he also speaks for Timothy on occasion as well. And while he left behind much wisdom, this letter is written from his viewpoint. And Paul was a man. Not God. This was part of his experience and the truth is... were any of us in Corinth or Achaia to know exactly what he was addressing here? Some of what you find in the Bible does not pertain to the world we now live in and was meant for a different time and a much different way of life. Not that there is not truth in this statement. What fellowship can light have with darkness? It can't. You are either moving toward life giving or life destroying at most moments. Or you sit in a stillness... afraid to move anywhere at all. Because that means change. Life is tough but once one learns to love themselves, they will no longer want to associate with people who bring them down to a lower level. People who are not "good for them" will fall by the wayside. Ex drug addicts don't usually hang out with current ones. (That's an example of my point.) Though helping others who've lost their way for those who have found it is something I believe all of us are meant to do. And the question of what do believers and non-believers have in common? We are all people on this Earth and we all are God's children. In my viewpoint, whether you are a believer or not, we all deserve to be treated equally. Christ was known for eating and socializing with the people that society deemed undesirable. Why? Because they were still people in need of love. That is what believers and non-believers have in common. We all need love. And as St. Francis of Assisi said... "Preach the gospel and, if necessary, use words." Somehow, though, I think there are things we're missing here. It is never good to take one Bible verse without taking in the context of which the rest of the chapter was written. Or looking for the reason it was written in the first place. But... if you don't intermingle... what does that say about your faith, don't you want others who aren't exactly like you to know it exists? However, this was a new church, in that time in order to keep the church going and growing it may have been necessary for a little segregation. But... eventually we are to walk out into the world and live. With the way we have evolved in the last 2000 years, so has our understanding of God. Or... at least... it should have. He's much bigger than just a book. And He is simply not contained in one man's letters to anyone.