“Leashed To Leasers”

Sunday, December 09, 2012

I am in the process of moving out of my apartment and into a house I just bought.  It's well before my lease is up, and my landlord will not let me break the lease.  Because of this, I have been advertising to find someone to sublet the apartment from me.  An unmarried couple is interested in the apartment, and they appear to be planning to live together.  If I were to sublet to them, would I be sinning by enabling this unscriptural living arrangement?

Furthermore, I haven't been able to find a clear answer, but it seems that discriminating based on being an unmarried couple living together may be illegal under the Fair Housing Act.  If this is the case, how should it factor into my decision?

Sincerely,
Landlord?

Dear Landlord,

These are the type of predicaments that test our wisdom and personal judgment.  On the one hand, the argument can be made that you are not causing them to live in sin, and they would just live somewhere else if you don’t sublet your apartment to them.  On the other hand, it is very easy to come to the conclusion that you are yoking yourself to an ungodly lifestyle (2 Cor 6:14).  In short, we would not be too quick to judge another christian’s decision in this area.

However, we can say that it would be impossible for us to sublet this apartment in good conscience if it were our decision, and anything not done in faith is sin (Rom 14:23).  Furthermore, if something becomes an issue of morality, then that supersedes any legal issues.  We must always obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).  The cons of this situation seem to far outweigh the pros.  This couple is openly living an ungodly lifestyle, which sets you up for a potentially damaging relationship as per 2 Cor 6:14-18.  Not only are they harming themselves, but there is a good chance that subletting to them will harm you as well.

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