A Christian girl once told Charles Spurgeon, the legendary preacher, that she was about to marry a man who didn’t attend church or make any allegiance whatsoever to Jesus. Spurgeon, true to form, quickly reminded her of the command from 2 Corinthians 6:14-15:

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? (N.K.J.V.)

But the young woman had another plan. She explained that she would lift the young man up spiritually after they were married. Spurgeon listened to what she was saying and then asked her to stand on a chair. The girl was puzzled by such an odd request, but she obliged. Once she was standing on the chair, Spurgeon said to her, “Now you try to pull me up to your level.” The girl tugged hard on the portly preacher, but no matter how hard she pulled she couldn’t pull him up on the chair with her.

Now it was Spurgeon’s turn. He said, “Now I am going to pull you down, and I want you to do your best to remain where you are.” You can guess what happened. Despite the young woman’s best efforts, Spurgeon easily pulled her down from that chair. Then he said to her, “That is what will happen if you marry that man. You won’t lift him up, but he will pull you down.”

Whether the unequal yoke is a marriage, some other type of personal relationship, or a business partnership, it is never God’s will for the Christian. As for an illustration of why it isn’t, I’ve never read anything better than Spurgeon’s demonstration to that young girl. Over the course of time in the yoke, as the Christian and the lost person try to work together to pull the plow, the great differences between the two will eventually become evident. Mismatched priorities, contrasting opinions, conflicting worldviews, and incompatible standards will be the rules rather than the exception. And what will the end result of all those differences be? The inevitable will happen as the Christian will, at least to some degree, get pulled down to the level of the lost person.