Soul Ties: Truth or Myth?
The way that the concept of soul ties is commonly portrayed is likely the result of a man’s theory rather than of sound biblical study. To put this into perspective, I actually did believe in soul ties at one time, but in studying the Bible, as opposed to studying another person’s sermon notes or write-up on soul ties, I’ve found that it’s just not something that’s firmly based on the Word (in context). To be plain, the Bible does not actually teach about soul ties, but there are a few instances in which this phrase/concept is specifically mentioned briefly. One is in 1 Sam 18, wherein the Bible says, “And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” Also in Genesis 34, the Bible says, “And when Shechem … saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.” And in Matthew 19 “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh…”
The context of these passages, however, describes deep love and connection to someone, not so much a negative connotation at all. Even with Shechem defiling Dinah, the scripture says he loved her. The soul cleaving was describing his love for her and was not a reference to the act of defiling her.
I believe the name “soul tie” commonly describes a strong emotional attachment to another person. Sometimes these connections can stem from physical intimacy or are associated with a sexual relationship, but as we see with Jonathan & David, this intimate relationship or deeply-felt love isn’t limited to sex. No matter what title that you use to describe it, the fact remains that the power of Jesus Christ is greater even than the power of any ungodly attachments. When we are in Christ, sin and the powers of darkness no longer have control over us unless we choose to submit to them. Therefore, if someone who is a believer chooses to serve soul ties, then that’s really more of a choice than an uncontrollable force that dominates the life of the believer against their will. It would be no different than anything else sinful/ungodly that Jesus has overcome. Yes, avoid fornication as well as ungodly connections and emotional attachments. And for those who are currently dealing with these connections and attachments, don’t neglect to stay mindful that Jesus Christ has set you free from the power of sin & darkness, especially regarding your life prior to salvation. There is no reason to believe you have to carry these things, emotions, people, into the new life that you have in Christ, or that you have to hold onto them while you are living IN Him. We must all lean on the Holy Spirit to guide us in letting go of unhealthy and ungodly emotions, whether through prayer, fasting, etc, and I believe that the fact that some people boost this concept of “soul ties” up as a special almighty force of darkness does more to discourage people’s confidence that they can overcome through Christ than it does to make people aware of ungodly connections and emotional ties. This is why I don’t agree with the “preaching” of soul ties. I believe it confuses people by leading them to believe something is holding onto them against their will when it’s often feelings that they themselves are holding onto and need to simply release and let go of. It’s likely that the originator(s) of this concept probably meant well in their intent, but I do not personally believe in soul ties as they are commonly described because I have yet to really see that in the Word the way it’s taught. Be blessed & encouraged.
(If interested, I also spoke about this on my YouTube Channel: here)
