Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

apostatize from God if it had not been for the faithful instruction he
had received in his youth from Abraham.
It is dangerous for one who respects God to connect himself
with one who does not respect Him. "Can two walk together, unless
they are agreed?" (Amos 3:3). The happiness and prosperity of
marriage depends on the unity of the parties; but there is a radical
difference of tastes, inclinations, and purposes between the believer
and the unbeliever. However pure and correct one's principles, the
influence of an unbelieving companion will tend to lead away from
God.
Those who have entered marriage while unconverted and are
later converted are under stronger obligation to be faithful to their
companions, no matter how they may differ in religious faith. Yet
the claims of God should be honored above every earthly
relationship, even if this brings trials and persecution. The spirit of
love and faithfulness may win the unbelieving one, but marriage
with the ungodly is forbidden in the Bible. "Do not be unequally
yoked together with unbelievers" (2 Corinthians 6:14, 17, 18).
Before One Marries
Isaac was the heir of the promises through which the world was
to be blessed; yet when he was forty years old he let his father
choose a wife for him. And the result of that marriage is a tender
and beautiful picture of happiness at home: "Isaac brought her into
his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his
129