By Tracy Jones
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion
hath light with darkness? -2 Corinthians 6:14
Any way you look at it, dating can be tricky…especially when religion
is involved. Being raised in a Christian home where tradition runs
deep, you may find yourself in the midst of a major battle when your
heart is given to someone with different beliefs. There is, of course,
nothing wrong with dating a non-Christian, just keep in mind that you
marry who you date. If this is understood, and you are truly willing to
accept and deal with the repercussions, all the more power to you. All
we suggest is that you consider a few things before jumping in.
What kind of dilemmas would you face in the future? Can a non-Christian
help you spiritually, or will they gradually pull you down? It's easy
to compromise your standards and beliefs in order to stay appealing to
that person, but is that really being true to yourself? It shouldn't
even be an option to alter everything you've based your life around
because your beliefs have helped shape you into the person you are, the
person that they fell for.
Then there's always the issue of children. What kind of foundation will
their lives be built on? Would they be encouraged to attend church and
live the principles that you live by, or will they be brought up in the
middle of a constant tug-of-war? It general, it just seems to be easier
on everyone, especially kids, when both parties follow the same
rulebook. Then again, there are those occasional exceptions to the rule.
We've all heard different stories of Christians dating non-Christians
who eventually do turn their lives to God. They later marry and have
strong, happy relationships with values centered on Christ. Or, there
are those couples that just don't let religion get in the way. Both are
willing to compromise and let the other partner have their freedom to
worship and live in a way that suits them. As promising as it sounds,
though, it's not always realistic. Many couples involved in
"dual-faith" relationships will find themselves buried in conflict and
heartache at some point, causing them to break up or divorce.
It's to be expected that meeting new people, especially people that
you're compatible with, is going to be challenging. But, consider
carefully whether short-term gain is worth ending up with the wrong
person. Falling in love is easy, but it's hard to imagine ever
voluntarily walking away from the relationship because your partner's
beliefs contradict your own.
The bottom line is that it's up to you who you date, because you're the
navigator of your future. No matter who you end up with, you're bound
to run into problems now and then. That just comes with the territory.
From there, it's up to you what happens. You'll either choose to stick
at it and work through the rough patches, or you'll decide it's too
hard and back out. If it makes your decision any easier, just remember
this advice: when a Christian and a non-Christian jump into a
relationship, the scales are uneven and likely to tip!
Tracy Jones was raised in a large and loving Christian family. As the
president of her church’s youth program, Tracy was always very active
in local and international ministries. Throughout school, she was a
faithful member and treasurer of the local chapter of the Fellowship of
Christian Athletes. Tracy graduated from Florida State University in
1987 and has earned 18 years of business experience. Since 1997 she has
spent her career building business in the technology industry with
Yahoo!, Inc. and was recently recruited by Spark Networks to build the
online Christian community through the ChristianMingle personals
service.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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