Yoked

We don’t think much about yokes any more. The need for and use of yokes has largely faded with the mechanization of farming. Even though we don’t see actual yokes in use, the concept continues to be relevant however.

Our friendships and relationships, especially marriage, continue to be “yokings”. Who we choose to place ourselves in partnership with is a choice to be yoked with them, regardless of the type of relationship. As one goes, so goes the other. This can be an equal yoking, a mentorship yoking, or just a really bad choice. It can be extraordinarily difficult to shed a yoking that is not good.

When you are yoked with someone else or even a bunch of someone elses, the effort given by each has a direct effect. Someone who pulls their own weight (exactly where this phrase comes from), or is teaching someone else the ropes, can be healthy, sustaining yokings. But if you have ever had to drag a screaming three-year-old from a store, you get a picture of unequal yoking from several different fronts. Yes, you eventually get them out of the store but it requires much more effort on your part than should have been necessary.

Jesus invites us to take His yoke for it is “easy to bear and the load is not hard to carry.” (Mt. 11:29-30) When we are yoked with Jesus, we are working in partnership with Him, learning from Him, and taking on exactly the right amount of Kingdom work. It is when we unyoke ourselves from Him, that we get overwhelmed and in trouble.

Where are you unyoking yourself from Jesus?