Not a Hoof

You’ll never win someone to Christ by lowering your standards. You’re not going to bring someone to Jesus by becoming more like them. If you become too much like them, then why would they ever want to become like you?

That’s why the Bible reminds us, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14 NKJV).

A modern interpretation puts it this way: “Don’t become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark?” (MSG).

We need to take a principled stand as Moses did. Pharaoh had agreed to let the Israelites go, but he wanted them to leave their flocks and herds behind.

Why would Pharaoh care about their animals? Because even though it was a small victory, it was a foot in the door.

So Moses told him, “All our livestock must go with us, too; not a hoof can be left behind. We must choose our sacrifices for the Lord our God from among these animals. And we won’t know how we are to worship the Lord until we get there” (Exodus 10:26 NLT).

In other words, “Here’s my answer, Pharaoh: Not a hoof will be left behind. You get nada. You get zero. No deals, no negotiations, no compromises. You’re not getting anything from us. We’re making a clean break.”

We need to say the same thing to the Devil. That’s because if we try to live in two worlds, we’ll be miserable. We’ll have too much of the Lord to be happy in the world, and too much of the world to be happy in the Lord. The antidote is a close relationship with Jesus Christ.