Yoked Together

The warning from Paul to be "not unequally yoked together with unbelievers" has been interpreted in a number of ways. Some have taken it to mean that we should not associate with or enter relationships with those who do not share our beliefs. But I don't think Paul's words are of a spirit of separatism. After all, his and our Lord associated with those considered to be the dross of the world and commanded that we do as we saw Him do. Paul warns against adopting incorrect traditions and practices from others, but I think there is another, deeper but no less important meaning to the caution against being "unequally yoked together." When we associate with others, we should not assume a superior or adversarial position to one another. To do so is akin to trying to pull each other in opposite directions: it wastes a lot of energy without accomplishing much (other than making ourselves feel exhausted and irritated). Rather, we should try to pull together. After all, there is much we can learn from one another, even when we disagree on important matters.
There may be times when our efforts to pull together do not yield productive results. At such times it may be the right thing to simply leave the yoke rather than to continue in contention and strife. But there's nearly always some common good that we can put our collective efforts behind. When we focus on doing that, we'll find that we strengthen one another and accomplish much good together, especially when the yoke that we share is the one given to us by the Savior (Matthew 11:29-30).

Spirit of Contention

Whatever your religion, whatever your ideology, attacking those who disagree with you doesn't help your cause. That's not to say we shouldn't defend our beliefs. But we can do so without being awful to one another.

Never Wrong

(Myself not excluded.)

Here's a useful exercise. When was the last time you both recognized and admitted you were wrong about something you cared deeply about? Nobody is right all the time. And we're all willing to admit we're not perfect when our imperfections benefit us, like when we need an excuse for mistakes or misbehavior for example ("hey, nobody's perfect"). But why then, if we so readily recognize that we're not perfect, is it so difficult to recognize when we are wrong about something?

I think it's important to approach every conversation with the assumption that our own positions--yes, even our most precious opinions and beliefs--could be flawed, or completely wrong altogether. That doesn't mean you give them up without a fight; it does mean laying them on the line and putting them to the test. If it turns out they are wrong, then we can relieve ourselves of them and be better off for it. If we remain convinced that they are correct however, that conviction will grow even stronger.

There can be no "trial of faith" with no trial.

Pipe Down

All of us have a little voice in our head that gets reeeeeeally feisty the moment we hear something that differs from what we already believe. It's good to be skeptical, but not to the point where we won't even consider opinions that differ from our own. None of us is right 100% of the time, so there is nearly always something to be gained by respectfully considering another's perspective. So the next time you immediately feel combative upon hearing an opinion that's different from yours, tell that little voice to "pipe down!"