In 1 Corinthians 7:25-31, Paul calls each person each to his or her own marital status because God is able to use them in any part of their lives. If this sounds familiar, it’s because that’s what we ended off with in yesterday’s Scripture reading. Paul says these things about not changing because he calls everyone to have a mindset that is fixed towards eternity instead of just the worldly life. In this context, what Paul means is that as Christians, marriage isn’t the final goal of life. In this society, many big goals in life include going to a good college, getting married, and getting a good job. However, none of these, not even marriage, matter in eternity. It is incredibly common to see teens dating in their high school, college years, or even middle school years. The Bible doesn’t say anything about dating specifically, but Paul is being very clear here that the point of school or life isn’t just to date, and we shouldn’t be emotionally tied to our partners. We need to keep our eyes fixed to Christ.
In verses 32-38, Paul also mentions the anxieties of the married vs unmarried people. He says that the unmarried person will be anxious about the things of the Lord while the married person will likely be anxious about the things of the world and of the marriage. This is why Paul often says in these verses that those who refrain from marriage are doing better than those who decide to marry. I’m going to classify modern dating as closer to marriage because it involves two people. Teens who date are already anxious about worldly things like the married people in this passage. The reality is, many teens aren’t ready to divide their attention between God and their partner. I see teenage years as an amazing gift from God because it is the years before marriage where humans grow the most. In a God-centered relationship, the man and the woman should be leading each other towards God, but that means both people need to have solid faith themselves. Paul basically calls us right now to fix our lives unto Christ so that we can grow in faith and devotion to God before marriage or maybe even before dating.
Finally, Paul addresses the widows in verses 39-40, saying that they are allowed to remarry another Christian if they choose to. However, Paul does recommend celibacy and checking to see if celibacy is really the right choice for the widow. Paul was in that state of celibacy at the time of his ministry, but there is a chance that he was married in the past and that he was a widower himself. We don’t know this for fact, although there is evidence for both sides. Maybe Paul’s recommendation for celibacy sprang from his personal experience.
What does this mean for us? I don’t know if whoever reading this is single or in a relationship right now, but there are lessons for both groups. If you are single, then really lock in with God. This time of life is where the most growth needs to happen before you get into a relationship. If you are in a dating or maybe even married relationship, then life may be happier, but life is likely harder spiritually. Make sure that the relationship is really centered on God and that there is encouragement from both parties pertaining to faith.
Thankfulness:
• My dad
• God
• Crying x6
• Teens
• My friend!
• Walking with Jon
• Job orientation
• Practice
• Everything haha