Going into business or partnership with a party diametrically opposite to you, is a definite no, no.
I know that, there is that saying, “opposite attracts”, however, when you put positive one together with negative one, the result is zero. Which can mean extinction, destruction or extermination.
Let’s delve into the Scriptures a little bit; 2 Corinthians 6 v 14-18: Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial[b]? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will live with them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.”[c]
17 Therefore,
“Come out from them
and be separate,
says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you.”[d]
18 And,
“I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.”
Paul started this piece by saying that, we should not be tied (either in business or personal “relationship-wise”) with unbelievers, or those who practice idolatry (worship in a House of Gods) and goes on to state that there is no commonality or common ground between the two parties.
If there is doubt about differentiating between the two parties, Paul gave us clues about differentiating them; see if you and the people you worship together with display the following characteristics, then you definitely belong to the party of darkness, Galatians 5 v 19-21; The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. On the other hand, the temple of God, which is you and me and the people we worship together with, that is the party of light (not necessarily those that clothe themselves with white garments), can be recognized according to the following behaviours listed in Galatians 5 v 22-23; But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
The reason why Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6 v 17 that we should separate ourselves from the other party is to be found in 1 Corinthians 15 v 33; Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” If you put a bad fruit in a bag of good fruits, the bad fruit will corrupt the good ones.
However, while we are in the process of renewing our minds, on this physical realm, we can not totally avoid the world and those that indulge in the acts of the flesh, and worship mammon (those to whom money is everything) and congregate in “House of Gods”. We can well in the time that God grants us on this realm, comport or conduct ourselves as ambassadors for Christ, let us behaviour reflect Christ in us, as shinning light, Paul explains it in Romans 12 v 1-2; Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. This is nothing to do with our outer or superficial garments, or following a set of man-made rules or tenets, or what comes into our body, as our Lord Jesus Christ taught us in Matthew 15 v 11; What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” Our speech (gossip, slander, backbiting, envy, jealousy, lies) all come out of our mouth and our hearts, and these are what defiles us, not whether we drink in moderation, or smoke or whatever we put in our bodies, if these are done in moderation and under control.
But then religion has over thousands of years twisted God’s laws and precepts for various reasons, not only the old established religions and denominations, but also the new ones that sprung up within the last two hundred or so years, that try to fulfil various “modern” needs of society and cultures.
