Good morning, good afternoon or is it good evening? I guess it all depends on when you read this, huh? I get up k
inda early so I usually write these around 6:30, that’s why I always write good morning. Maybe I’ll just start saying good day and cover all the bases.
God put this on my heart this morning, so let’s talk about influence. Specifically, influencing others in a positive way. Letting the light of Christ that you hold within you, influence others. Making it a point to influence someone’s day with the joy, goodness and hope of Christ. What does that look like?
Influence is defined as “the power to have an important effect on someone.” I like this definition for one word specifically…power. The world will tell you that power comes from ourselves. That somehow, we have this wealth of goodness and power within us that allows us to positively affect others. Not true. If you read along with the 5MC you know that we are sinners by nature. We cannot do right before a perfect Holy God. So, if we can’t be good before God how can we be good before others? How can we be a positive influence under our own power? Back to that word, power. The power is from Christ, from the Holy Spirit. Our ability to consistently affect the people in our lives with love, joy, goodness, mercy and grace comes directly from the source, our source of power, Jesus Christ.
Sometimes a positive influence can be just as easy as a smile or a wave. Every day if the weather allows, I enjoy a nice 3 mile walk around my neighborhood. I got into the habit of when a car is about 20 yards out, I wave. Now I’m in Ft Worth, a big city and a big neighborhood, I don’t know these people but with every wave I say a quick prayer that God would show up in their lives in some way today. What’s ironic is the responses I get. Some people wave back excitedly with a big smile, they seem so happy with the exchange! Some people just look confused. Why is that crazy guy waving at me…ha. But then there are some that gaze at me. Lock eyes and make a choice, a choice to not wave back. Sometimes I can feel the indifference through the windshield. The difference in the responses? The “power” of Christ that allows us to influence.
Never underestimate the power of how you can influence others through Christ. Dan’s smile is just a smile, but Dan’s smile in the power of Christ can change someones day. Yesterday I got the most beautiful message from a friend on Facebook. It encouraged me, lifted me up and yes, influenced me. Her words can influence, but her words backed in the power of Christ made my spirit soar like an eagle. Thank you for the beautiful, powerful, Christ -filled words Sheri, you have no idea how much I needed them.
On to our scripture. Today we’ll look at 2 Corinthians 6. We’re gonna look at a passage that is often not necessarily mis-understood but maybe not fully understood. 2 Corinthians 6:14 (NIV)
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?”
When you first read this, I can pretty much guarantee what you think of first…marriage. You’re saying, “oh yeah, this is the verse that says a believer shouldn’t marry and un-believer.” Yes, but. I want us to really look at the context and how deep God intends this verse to go.
Paul is making an appeal to the Corinthians here to make a clean break with idolatry. They are to make a clean break with the sins of the flesh. They are to be separated from the worldliness that is in this world. Let’s look at the example of the yoke.
Back in the old testament under the Mosaic law, God gave a law to His people who were largely involved in agriculture. He said that they were not to yoke together an ox and an ass. That would be yoking together unequal animals. One was a clean animal and one was an unclean animal. Yes, God is specifically telling believers here that they should not be yoked together with someone that does not believe in Jesus Christ. The simple version, We should not enter into long-term relationships or bonds with un-believers. So is this verse still just about marriage?
Nope. God says “any” long-term bonds, relationships, agreements, contracts or unions that are unequally yoked should not happen. Remember Paul is specifically talking about idolatry and breaking the bonds bwtween Christians and a sinful world. Think about these examples that could all be unequally yoked.
2 people starting a business together
A conservative professor at a liberal seminary
A Christian working at an immoral company
A Christian being a member at a church that does not preach the gospel
A pastor that amends the Word of God in any church
And yes, the marriage of a man and a woman
You see, any long-term relationship or bond can be unequally yoked. So, what exactly happens if one of these takes place? Well, I’ve seen many examples of many of these in my day. They can usually weather well for a short period but remember God’s Word is specifically speaking of long-term. You don’t yoke together the oxen for 5 minutes of plowing. You yoke them together day after day, month after month, season after season, year after year. The soil needs to be tended long-term if you want to reap what you sow long-term. So, these unions usually weather the storms for a while but eventually it all builds up and falls. I have seen so many business partnerships start off with “we’ll never fight”, that end up with these same partners, stealing from, fighting, and slandering each other. I’m sure you’ve all got your own examples as well. I always hear the famous reply “that won’t happen to us” and then BOOM! It happens. God is God, He made everyone of us and He knows us better than we know ourselves. Save yourself some heartache and simply listen to the Word of God on this. Have faith in God’s Word.
I’ve got a cool side story for you on this topic. Margie and I used the Dave Ramsey program to get debt free 10 years ago and to this day we still live debt free and use a monthly written budget for our finances. We so believe in this program that we later led the class for several years at one of our churches. Dave used a story about 2 horses yoked together to relate to the marriage finances. As we led the class we saw many couples that walked through the doors of that class and their finances were completely separate. She had her money, he had his money and like oil and water they didn’t mix. To be equally yoked means you share the burden, completely and equally. If one horse pulls too little the other has to take up the slack. That’s not equal, and it WILL cause problems. Check out this story.
A farmer has 2 horses. One has been pulling for years and one is new. One is a little larger and more experienced, the new one a bit smaller and has not been pulling long. They pull differently, they are unequal in their pulling. He replaces the smaller of the 2 with a new “Belgian draft horse” one of the largest strongest horses in the world. Now the horse that was once the strongest, is weaker compared with the new Belgian. The man decides to retire the older horse and go solo with his new Belgian super horse. The new Belgian can pull an amazing 8,000 pounds on its own. The farmer is happy and his yield grows. As the fields and the crops grow, he sees the need to go back to a tandem team. He decides to add another horse. He buys another Belgian draft horse. Now he logically concludes that if one Belgian can pull 8,000 pounds, then he can expect 2 of them to pull 16,000 pounds. When he starts using his new team that’s not what he found out at all. After carefully yoking them equally and with some training, his new Belgian team could pull an amazing 24,000 pounds! The team could pull three times more than one could on it’s own.
I love this story and by the way it’s true. You see when we are equally yoked with other Christians, God will bless the union with exponential blessings. We will be able to do more in a God blessed union. I’ve seen this in my own marriage as God has used the two of us to serve Him in mighty ways that I never could have imagined on my own.
Beautiful, vivid lesson today from the Lord.
I trust that as you spend your personal time in God’s Word today that it speaks to your heart and becomes a part of who you are. That’s His plan.
God bless you all.
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