Most people think of unequally yoked marriages as one person being a believer and the other not a believer at all. While this is one type of unequally yoked relationship, there are two more.
The First Type - A Believer and Non-Believer
Again, this is the type most people will think of when they hear the phrase unequally yoked. It’s where one spouse is entirely devoted to serving the Lord and living a Christian lifestyle, but their husband or wife does not believe and has no desire to live a Christian lifestyle.
The Second Type - Believers in Different Faiths
One spouse believes that Jesus is the son of God, but their partner may not be too sure of this. They may believe that something exists or in a different religion entirely and be sold out to that one.
The Third Type - Two Believers in Jesus With Only One Living the Lifestyle
Both spouses believe Jesus is the son of God who died and rose so they could have eternal life, but only one spouse has the desire to live out the faith. The other is not entirely sold out or ready to walk in the Christian faith.
Disconnected and Lack of Communication
Both partners will feel disconnected from their spouse on some level spiritually, and it becomes hard to communicate.
I work with Christian wives who feel spiritually disconnected from their husbands. So, I will give examples from a wife’s point of view.
When there is a spiritual imbalance within a marriage, and the wife is the one who is following Christ, she may not want to express her experiences with God to her husband.
Being unequally yoked causes fear of rejection over something valued spiritually.
The Holy Spirit confirmed something to her, and she is excited but knows that her husband will not share the same excitement. So, she holds back from having that conversation with him.
She needs prayer and wants to have her husband as a prayer partner, but she pulls back from inviting him into prayer with her because he doesn’t believe. She wants him to have faith in God before praying with her.
There are other areas affected by being spiritually disconnected or in an unequally yoked marriage, but I will discuss those in the future. For now, I really wanted to give you a brief overview of unequally yoked relationships and how they are not all the same.
Does your marriage fit into one of these categories? Please join Christian Wives With Unshakable Faith to find support.
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