Unequally Yoked As A Prepper

The apostle Paul wrote to the saints in Corinth, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?" (2 Cor. 6:14, KJV).

I understand Paul was talking about our and our mates individual belief in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. If you were raised in any type of religious environment it is taught that we need to "Yoke" ourselves to the same. Setting color and ethnicity to the side, our partners beliefs need to be close to same in order for the relationship to work without spiritual conflict.

As with all things there are exceptions. I know couples who have been married for years that are of different beliefs. One being Baptist and the other Catholic. I asked one fifty year couple how it all worked for so long and he said they never talk about it. They just do their own thing. I guess if it works, it works but how sad is it not to be able to fellowship with your own beloved spouse.

If we married ourselves it would boring. There has to be some differences to make life interesting. Maybe my wife likes Mexican food a lot more then me or I like Rock climbing more than her. The differences are what makes life more interesting and those small differences we all have with one another should not stand in the way with how we live. I will compromise and eat tacos more than I would like while the wife compromises and stays at the bottom of the rock cliff cheering me on telling me not fall.

But what if our mates do stand in the way. We could be on the same page on just about everything in life except the one we feel so strongly about and it will make for a disaster waiting to happen. We also evolve as we get older and gain knowledge. What did not interest me twenty two years ago when I wed my be my main focus today. If she is not of the same mind set then conflict will happen and the same the other way as well.

I am not comparing Religion to Mexican food or anything of the sorts.
Here's the bottom line, What if a survivalist weds a non-survivalist, a homesteader to a apartment dweller that does not want to move, a prepper to a spender or a farmer to a high kept city gal? He/she will will never get the support or backing unless one or the other changes their mind set to become more like the other.

Doing your own thing will only last for a while, but when you come home with a new survival gadget when the other one wants to buy a new dog sweater, that is where the trouble starts. I may like the shade from my trees, but the wife may want more sun for her new garden. What if I want to buy extra food at the store for my preps but she wants to go out for dinner, conflict is inevitable when we are unequally yoked in that way.

Everyone can compromise to an extent. I can only buy some extra food and then take her to McDonald's. Do we both win, or do we both loose? Neither got what we really wanted.

Aside from food storage, what about just living. As we get older we tend to want to eat better to preserve what little precious life we have left. Eating better means buying more expensive organic foods or growing your own. If I had no help in the gardens or harvesting and preserving the foods and the wife was against the very nature of me doing such dumb things, then I would eventually become bitter while I watched my mate eat the food I labored for.
Don't get me wrong, being unable to help is one thing, but complaining and blatantly sitting on the couch refusing to help while I clearly need it is something entirely different.

I am lucky that I found a woman with the same mind set as I do. I can only remember a hand full of ideas she has turned her nose up at, but then helped out anyway. Being yoked to the same thought process is a wonderful thing. We may differ on how to do it, but the end result is that it gets done. Backing and support are everything when trying to do all this and it is really hard to do it when someone you love is not with you in every step.

No, prepping/homesteading is not as big a deal as my beliefs in the creator, but understanding and support are pieces of the puzzle I call marriage. I should only hope you all are equally yoked to your spouse in all this and for for the ones who are not, I say to hang in there and do what you can, maybe they will turn around.