Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 7. Here are a few thoughts:
- This chapter talks a lot about marriage and whether someone should get married. Paul suggested that it’s better for someone not to get married. He wasn’t saying marriage is bad. Instead he’s pointing out that if a person can control themselves, not getting married is better because they wouldn’t have the stress of caring for a spouse. Instead the unmarried can focus all their attention on serving God (and others).
- Some people he was writing to thought if one spouse decided to follow Jesus and the other didn’t, the believing spouse could divorce the non-believing spouse. Paul refuted this idea. Paul also said if one doesn’t take his advice and leaves their spouse they should remain unmarried unless they’re reconciled with their original partner. This may be a difficult teaching and appear that Paul was being too tough on these people. However, God is very clear that he holds the union of marriage very high and so should we. We shouldn’t quickly enter into or dissolve a marriage.
- Then starting in verse 29 Paul made some confusing statements. What Paul was trying to communicate was that we shouldn’t be too focused on the affairs of life here. Instead, we should be focusing on serving God and keep in mind that life is short.
- Paul ends this chapter with a fitting reminder that marriage is a bond that lasts a lifetime.
Does Paul’s advice on marriage sound strange to you? What about it? Can you see his point that marriage can be a distraction for someone wanting to serve God? How did you feel reading verses 29-31, where Paul tells us not to focus on this world? Is that something you get stuck doing? Ask God to help you focus more on him and less on the stress of life.
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