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Listen "The Christian Working Woman - Guidance from Scripture for Tough Decisions – II"
Episode Synopsis
Let’s look at some passages from the Bible that give specific and clear instruction about many tough decisions. I want to begin with:
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14)?
If you’re facing a decision about a relationship—it could be marriage, a business partnership, or an organization you’re considering—this verse will give you guidance. If there is a yoke involved in that relationship, it should only be with a fellow believer. A yoke is a wooden crosspiece fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plow or cart they pull. It binds them together to do a job. The yoke Paul is talking about is any kind of covenant, contract, or even unwritten commitment that would bind you with someone for a certain purpose.
Of course, that applies to marriage. Are you facing a critical decision about whether to begin a new relationship that could lead to marriage? If so, this is wisdom you need before you begin: Are you both truly committed to Jesus Christ, do you hold the same doctrinal beliefs, and are you both involved in serving the Lord in some way?
How many people do I know—men and women—who chose to ignore this biblical principle in choosing their mate! And in every case, they lived to regret it. What you want in a good marriage is close fellowship, two people joined together as one, and how can light and darkness be joined together? This is an unequivocal principle from God’s Word; there’s no way to read it any other way. It may be a difficult decision, especially if your feelings are already engaged, but choosing not to be yoked unequally will prove the best for you in the long run.
This applies not only to marriage but to other types of partnerships as well, where you are legally or verbally committed to a project or business. This verse is clear guidance, and to overlook it is to invite disaster into your life.
Here’s another clear directive:
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender (Proverbs 22:7).
Are you facing a financial decision? This passage warns against unwise debt. The person who borrows too much and has excessive debt is indeed slave to that debt. Credit card companies are making a lot of money because so many people are trapped in perpetual debt. Honestly, they don’t want you to pay off your card and be debt free, because they are charging huge interest rates. If you’ll just pay the minimum, they’re more than happy to keep you in debt.
Our culture has become a slave to materialism, and we are bombarded with all kinds of advertising that entices us to spend more, own more, have more—as though it will make us happy. Who of us hasn’t fallen prey to their enticements and gone in debt for stuff we didn’t really need. One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is to set a goal to be debt free as soon as you possibly can. There is helpful material available to help you set up a budget and become debt free, and the wise person will follow it.
Think more than twice about taking on new debt. It will enslave you faster than you can imagine.
Here is a passage that gives us a general directive to guide specific decisions:
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
You can take this quite literally and make sure you’re making wise decisions about what you are eating and drinking. Those decisions may seem small at the time, but they truly have a huge impact on your future health, energy, and ability to function. God will hold you accountable as to the stewardship of your body and your health. Some things are out of your control, but many problems can be avoided by paying attention to what you take into your b
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14)?
If you’re facing a decision about a relationship—it could be marriage, a business partnership, or an organization you’re considering—this verse will give you guidance. If there is a yoke involved in that relationship, it should only be with a fellow believer. A yoke is a wooden crosspiece fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plow or cart they pull. It binds them together to do a job. The yoke Paul is talking about is any kind of covenant, contract, or even unwritten commitment that would bind you with someone for a certain purpose.
Of course, that applies to marriage. Are you facing a critical decision about whether to begin a new relationship that could lead to marriage? If so, this is wisdom you need before you begin: Are you both truly committed to Jesus Christ, do you hold the same doctrinal beliefs, and are you both involved in serving the Lord in some way?
How many people do I know—men and women—who chose to ignore this biblical principle in choosing their mate! And in every case, they lived to regret it. What you want in a good marriage is close fellowship, two people joined together as one, and how can light and darkness be joined together? This is an unequivocal principle from God’s Word; there’s no way to read it any other way. It may be a difficult decision, especially if your feelings are already engaged, but choosing not to be yoked unequally will prove the best for you in the long run.
This applies not only to marriage but to other types of partnerships as well, where you are legally or verbally committed to a project or business. This verse is clear guidance, and to overlook it is to invite disaster into your life.
Here’s another clear directive:
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender (Proverbs 22:7).
Are you facing a financial decision? This passage warns against unwise debt. The person who borrows too much and has excessive debt is indeed slave to that debt. Credit card companies are making a lot of money because so many people are trapped in perpetual debt. Honestly, they don’t want you to pay off your card and be debt free, because they are charging huge interest rates. If you’ll just pay the minimum, they’re more than happy to keep you in debt.
Our culture has become a slave to materialism, and we are bombarded with all kinds of advertising that entices us to spend more, own more, have more—as though it will make us happy. Who of us hasn’t fallen prey to their enticements and gone in debt for stuff we didn’t really need. One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is to set a goal to be debt free as soon as you possibly can. There is helpful material available to help you set up a budget and become debt free, and the wise person will follow it.
Think more than twice about taking on new debt. It will enslave you faster than you can imagine.
Here is a passage that gives us a general directive to guide specific decisions:
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
You can take this quite literally and make sure you’re making wise decisions about what you are eating and drinking. Those decisions may seem small at the time, but they truly have a huge impact on your future health, energy, and ability to function. God will hold you accountable as to the stewardship of your body and your health. Some things are out of your control, but many problems can be avoided by paying attention to what you take into your b
In God we trust