“Yokes will be destroyed; burdens will be lifted” is a phrase that has been in existence even before I was born. Hardly would any Christian prayer session end without the prayer leader saying, “yokes will be destroyed, burdens will be lifted” and the congregation shouts amen. Unfortunately, may be those prayers wouldn’t have been necessary if the pastor or the congregation understands what a yoke means
A yoke is a wooden bar put across the necks of two animals of the same kind to hold them together for ploughing. The two animals yoked together can’t do what they like or ought to do, the animals can’t go where they like. A yoke compels you to walk in the same steps as the other yoke-fellow and so you experience almost the same thing as your yoke fellow. So, basically, yoke is simply by association. Since yoke means association, we humans can’t be yoke-free, we are beings designed to associate. We are bound to be yoked. For example, there are certain experiences and circumstances that we go through as Nigerians that we individually may not deserve or have to go through but we are compelled to go through them because we are yoked together as Nigerians, the same go for states, local governments, CDAs and other countries.
Our environments and associations determine a lot of things about our lives. A yoke can be stronger than genes sometimes. Two children born by the same parents but raised in two different environments usually behave in different ways that are predominantly determined by those locations and if care is not taken their experiences and outcomes in life will not be too far from those of their respective locations. There is a reason a child born and raised in a ghetto behave and reason differently from a child raised in a highly regulated and serene areas. This is why one of the best gifts parents can give to their children is the choice of where the children are raised.
Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend most times with, show me your friends and I will show you your future”. That is what is called a yoke. It is also an established fact that almost every experience in life is contagious. Wealth, poverty, sicknesses even death is contagious. If you share your time and energy with people who have the consciousness of wealth, poverty, sickness, death or anything for that matter you are going to have the same consciousness and once you are conscious of them it is just a matter of time, you are bound to experience them in your life.
I can’t forget an incidence that happened in Uyo while I was in National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), a female friend who was also a “corper”, as those in the service are often called, suddenly withdrew from everyone, she started looking sad and it was obvious she had been crying. She refused to talk to anyone, not even me her gist partner at the time. After some days, I got worried about her, I stayed in front of her door, I told her I wouldn’t leave until she told me what the problem was, she was forced to tell me; her breasts were stiff and some other abnormal symptoms, she went for breast cancer scanning and it came out negative. Even though the result said she didn’t have the disease, she was worried because of her symptoms. And then I just concluded a research and wrote about hypochondriac manifestations. I asked her if any of her relatives had the ailment in the past, she said no, but two of her closest friends back at home in Kaduna had it. I said, “O I see”. That was her problem, what she had is called “hypochondriac manifestation” she was having the symptoms of a disease even though she really wasn’t suffering from the disease. Her experience was because she was too conscious of breast cancer because the disease was affecting those she was associating closely with. If I had not helped, it would probably be a matter of time before the thing became a reality. Such is the power of a yoke
2 Corinthian 6:14 says “do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers”. It simply means do not be held bound together with an unbeliever. I know preachers use this for marriage counseling but the verse talks about relationships generally, do not be unequally yoked with anyone whose experience in life you do not want or who is not going in your direction in life.
Not all yokes are bad, you can take advantage of yokes to gain advantage in life, you only need to select your “yoke-partners wisely” in other words, select your friends and associations wisely.
Remember, when you are yoked with someone, you will be compelled to walk in the same step as your yoke-fellow, you will therefore experience what they experience.
You can also be mentally-yoke” with people. It can be through the media, books, music, etc. You can become like minded with anyone by simply reading their books or listening to their music, sermons or any materials of theirs over and over again.
To balance things on “yokes will be destroyed” prayer, there are certain people we are yoked with naturally like family, cities, states etc and it seems we can’t do anything about those yokes. for instance, there are certain things that run in some families like poverty, sicknesses, untimely death and so on. People experience those things just because they found themselves in that family. Well, in this case, praying for yokes to be destroyed may be in order. However, even in this type of case, your experiences will be different from the rest of them if you refuse to be yoked with them by not having the same consciousness that run in the family, refuse to believe in the negativities that run in there, take practical steps not to experience those things rather than retiring to fate.
You can destroy your yokes yourself and be yoked with whoever you want to be yoked with