separate ain’t equal

Imagine that you own a business with a partner. You’re each the head of your own department within the business. You operate that department as best you can with what you have, and based on what you believe is in the best interest of the company.

The only trouble is you never actually talk to your business partner about what he or she is doing in his or her department. As a matter of fact, for all you know, he or she might not really be coming into the office regularly, might be giving the employees lots of time off. For all you know, your partner might be sinking you!

When two people get married, they form a partnership. When they try to manage money separately, never really engaging each other in productive conversation about financial goals, they set themselves up for serious problems.

I spoke with a couple in their fifties recently who were operating from separate bank accounts, hadn’t been open about how much money they made, and yet they were facing foreclosure on a house they never should’ve purchased in the first place. The Bible says you shouldn’t marry someone you aren’t “equally yoked” with. That means you shouldn’t marry someone who isn’t unified with you on your value system. But even if we start equally yoked, we have to work to stay there after I do.

Trying to manage money separately certainly doesn’t keep a couple on equal footing.