1 Corinthians 7:17-40

All right. The last time I tried to write this, it got lost. That was Sunday evening. It's Tuesday afternoon now. Hopefully the bad "luck" has passed by now. But perhaps it was not simply a case of bad luck. When I wanted to continue writing this on Monday, I had already spent an hour on it and just wanted to finish it and move on. Well that should be a red flag right there. That kind of apathy is unacceptable, and will not help us to continue move closer to Christ. Now, the fact that I try to do this on a regular basis could have the effect of making it a routine and numb me to doing it, but is that any reason to stop doing it? I think not. Reading our Bibles every day could get routine, however that does not in any way imply we should not do it every day. This last Sunday at Bible study, Bobby brought up a great point. This is a relationship! As such, it should have all the aspects of a successful and exciting relationship... Like spontaneity! A schedule should be there to guide you, not control you!

This blog is supposed to be all about 1 Corinthians, but that did not stop me from taking a day to write my post about Faithfulness. After that I got right back onto my "schedule." Bobby and Christa's marriage (or any other marriage for that matter), he said, could be completely planned with a bunch of nice activities to do together, but how predictable! There's no room for emotion or surprise, and I doubt anyone would like their life or relationships to be like that. Sure, a plan is nice sometimes so you have some idea of what you want to do, but when that plan decides what you do instead of you planning what you do, well, that just sounds dangerous. At that point apathy can hit, and you will have no power to resist it, since you have completely committed yourself to doing something you no longer want to do.

On that note, let us dive in to the last half of chapter 7. Verses 17-24 are pretty straightforward, and seem to just be a continuation of the theme of contentment. Paul says that we need not worry about changing our social status simply because we are saved. The Lord has a place for each of us, and that place is where we should walk and serve the Lord (v.17). He reassures us that religious status and social status is nothing, "but keeping the commandments of God is what matters" (v.19).

On a side note: It seems that Paul has a tendency to repeat himself a lot, perhaps he got that from the Old Testament. I seem to remember it happening there quite a bit too. Verses 17,20, and 24 are very similar. I would not even start to accuse him of being a bad writer (we always learn not to be repetitious in English class at school), since he may have felt this was necessary. These Corinthians were hard-headed and proud, so he may have felt that it would take a few times to really make his point

In verse 25 Paul decides to give advice rather than a commandment, since he knew of no command from the Lord (Christ or the Old Testament) that he could give. He advises people to stay as they are, if single to remain single, and if married to remain married. He does say that if one decides to get married, that is perfectly legitimate, although marriage will inevitably produce some conflict. He again wishes that men could be like him, and not have to worry about the troubles of a marriage (v.28).

In verse 29 Paul makes a little shift, encouraging the Corinthians to seek the Lord fully. He says that "those who have wives should be as though they had none" (v.29). This is not to say that marriage is not important or that physical needs should not still be met, but to say that the marriage should not take away from one's service to the Lord. This is not a problem if the one we marry encourages us toward that end in the first place! This is an urgent message, too, to be started immediately, not put off until some future date, because the "time is short" (v.29).

Paul urges that there be no distractions coming between us and the Lord (v.32). Marriage is not inherently a hindrance, although it does bring up potential distractions that could get between us and God. One of these is seeking to please our spouse (vv.33,34). That could be an encouragement to humble oneself and be Christ-like and more of a servant, or it could dominate our thoughts, and become an obsession taking higher precedence in our lives than God. Single people need not worry about this distinction, because they can simply focus on seeking the Lord and keeping themselves holy in body and spirit (v.34). At the end of this paragraph Paul once again reiterates that this counsel is not meant to hinder them, but to encourage them to remove distractions from their life in whatever way possible (v.35).

Verses 36-38 are Paul's advice on what to do in the case that the father had dedicated his daughter to lifelong chastity. If histhe man's daughter had a problem with this, and wanted to get married, he should not feel that breaking his vow would be sinning. It is no sin to allow one's child to marry. However, if the daughter was not bent on marrying anyone, he should not feel compelled to have her marry. Keeping her as a virgin would not be wrong. This was simply a matter of preference, not a choice between wrong or right.

Verses 39-40 are about the wife and restrictions on marriage and remarriage. Basically, the commitment lasts until one person dies, at which point the living spouse may remarry if they please (v.39). Paul says that he thinks they would be happier staying single, and for many that may be true, then adds (and this is actually funny, as it would seem obvious) that he thinks he has the Holy Spirit in him.

This passage at a first glance may seem somewhat dry, focused on an aspect of human living that does not specifically apply to me, but distractions are anything but missing from my life! The idea that we should "be without care" (v.32) and "serve the Lord without discation" (v.35) still apply! Jesus Christ once told us to be radical about dealing with distractions and sin. He told us we should cut off any inlet it has into our lives, so that we can serve Him perfectly without worrying about other things. He used an analogy of eyeballs being plucked and hands being severed. That is how radical I should treat these things that are getting in my way of serving Christ and getting to know Him better (Please note that it was just an analogy ~ He was not condoning self mutilation). What I can continue to do at all times is search for ways to destroy those sinful desires that creep up to take away from the joy I have in this relationship with my Lord.