Marry "Only in the Lord" Still Realistic?

STILL REALISTIC

A sister in Australia named Maggie began dating someone who was not a true Christian. She says I missed a lot of meetings just to be with him.  My spirituality dropped drastically." Another young woman in India named Ratana dated a classmate who started studying the Bible. However, he only studied the Bible so that he could date her. Eventually, she stopped serving Jehovah and joined another religion so that she could marry him.

Ndgenue from Cameroon was 19 years old when she married a man who did not serve Jehovah. Before their wedding, he promised that she could continue to be a Witness. However, two weeks after their wedding, he told her that she was not allowed to go to congregation meetings.  She says:  "I found myself lonely and weeping. I realized that I had lost control of my life. I felt constant remorse." 

It is true that some Christians have married a mate who does not serve Jehovah but who is still kind and fair.  However, if your mate who did not serve Jehovah was kind, how would your relationship with Jehovah be affected?  How would you feel knowing that you did not listen to the counsel he gave for you to be happy? And most important, how would Jehovah feel about what you have done? -Proverbs 1:33.

Brothers and sisters around the world who have obeyed Jehovah's counsel to marry "only in the Lord" are convinced that this is the best decision.  Single brothers and sisters are determined to make Jehovah happy by marrying someone who worships him. Michiko from Japan was determined to obey God even though her relatives tried to convince her to marry someone who did not  love Jehovah. And it was hard for her to watch some of her friends marry true Christian while she remained unmarried. She says:  "I kept telling myself that since Jehovah is a 'happy God,' our happiness does not depend on whether we are married or not. I also believe  that he grants us the desires of the heart. So if we cannot find a mate  even though we want to marry, it is best for us to stay single  for the time being."  (1 Timothy 1:11)  Later on, Michiko married a fine brother, and she is happy that she listened to Jehovah's counsel.

There also are some brothers who have waited to find the right person to marry. For example, Bill from Australia admits that at times he was attracted to women who were not Witnesses. However, he did not  get too friendly with any of them because  he did not want to start a relationship that would result in becoming "unevenly yoked" with an unbeliever. Over the years, he was also interested in a few sisters, but they did not feel the same way about him.  Bill waited 30 years until he found a Christian woman who had similar goals. He says:  "I have no regrets. I feel blessed because we go out in the ministry together, study together, and worship together. I am happy to meet and associate  with my wife's friends because  they are all fellow worshippers of Jehovah.  We work on our marriage using Bible principles."

Next time: Marry "Only in the Lord" Still Realistic? - WHILE WAITING ON JEHOVAH

From the Watchtower magazine, 2015