I just wanted to share this because I felt it was AMAZING!
This is just as applicable to single christian men as it is to single christian women.. so read on!
For the christians considering getting themselves 'unequally yoked' against what Corinthians teaches.. here is what Michelle Mckinney Hammond has to say :)
**to my married friends I have tagged.. I've tagged you because I'm sure you will find this useful to pass on to some of your single friends who may at one time or another share their struggles with you in this area. :)
'The Valley of Compromise' - Michelle Mckinney Hammond
It is just as easy to fall in love with a non believer as it is to fall in love with a believer. The non believer might score extra points in some areas if we are really being truthful. Lets be honest on how the relationship plays out with a woman who is smitten with a man who does not have her same spiritual commitment. She has a tendency to compromise, not sexually at first, but conversationally. She decides that she is not going to push her beliefs on him, so she remains quiet.
SHe does not speak up when the conversation travels down a path it should not.
She does not say things she should and says things she should not. She almost ends up apologizing at times for what she believes so he will not be 'uncomfortable'. It is interesting that she will sacrifice her own comfort level for somebody who has no respect for what she believes.
After the conversation gets watered down, her habits begin to decline. In an effort to prove she is flexible, she misses church or Bible class. She stops being transparent with her friends because she does not want to be held accountable. Once she becomes disconnected, it is easy to take the next step: Physically relaxing. Entering into a sexual relationship before marriage brings condemnation. Once she has compromised enough, her conscience becomes seared to the point where she begins to justify her actions.
Meanwhile she fails to realise that she has lost this mans respsect. Even the world is impressed when a woman can stand up for waht she believes without cracking. In this example, the man does not find the woman at all impressive. She talked a good game in the beginning, but in the end he wore her down. Oh well the challenge is now over... NEXT!
It's simply a matter of time..
The Bible clearly shows that whenever people compromised with those who did not share their knowledge and their love for God.. the relationship ended in death. This could be death of joy, peace, and fullfillment, or perhaps even a physical sacrifice was made. The best example of this is Samson. When Samson married a Philistine woman, the affair ended in betrayal and a revengeful bloodbath. Later when he got involved with a Philistine prostitute, he almost got caught in a death trap.
People were lying in wait to kill him after he emerged from the prostitutes home. Even after that he still had not leanred his lesson. He ended up living with the infamous Delilah, another Philistine woman. This relationship not only led to his being blinded, but also to a bondage and eventually death!
Though God lovingly redeemed him before he died, perhaps he would have been around a little longer had he not made the fatal choices that he did. In the end what Samson loved more than God, did not love him back.
How many times are we blinded by the emotions that flood us when we are with somebody who makes us feel good, no matter how bad the situation may be for us? We are not foolish for making a mistake, only for refusing to learn from it. How often will we deliberately walk into relationships we know can go nowhere to assuage our hunger? Some women have conditioned themselves to think 'well this is just something to do for now' while inwardly knowing they want so much more. Self deception quickly gives way to unnecessary pain when the relationship ends and we are faced with the overwhelming truth that our words and emotions did not really match.
Take control of our lives, guard our hearts so we do not grow sickly and waste away after enduring disappointment after disappointment.
don't nibble at apetizers because you don't know when the main course is coming. Safeguard your emotions and save room in your heart for the real thing.
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