Wrong Perspectives-1 Cor. 7

Here is the first thing they teach you as a marketing student (my degree is in marketing, I should know): value is based on perception. In other words, an object or a product is seldom inherently valuable, but more often is only as valuable as it is viewed by the market. But what if something is portrayed inaccurately, or inappropriately? Then its value, or worthiness, will suffer. It is like looking at a breath-taking landscape through misty glasses...your distorted view will cloud and corrupt your perception.

Our culture has a broken perspective when it comes to singleness and marriage, and as a result it places an incorrect value on both states of life and love. In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul writes a great deal on these topics,and given how many lies and distortions our culture feeds us on these important topics, we would do well to heed Paul's instruction. Here are just a couple thoughts from the text, to restore proper value to these issues of life.

1) Singleness may often be an appropriate, good thing, and can be a unique gift from God. There can be no doubt that marriage is a God-given gift--the evidence is plain in God's design in Genesis 2, and marriage is everywhere extolled in Scripture. But singleness happens, and in some cases is unavoidable. Our culture says that be single is an opportunity to casually date and sleep around--"single and ready to mingle." Yet Paul refuses to detach celibacy from Godly singleness: "Now concerning the matters about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman." (1 Cor. 7:1) So it is not wrong to be single, in fact it is as morally good and acceptable as marriage, but it is to be accompanied by sexual abstinence. Another distortion about singleness that often comes from well-meaning people (even those in the church) is that it is undesirable. So they ask a thousand times "any prospects on the girlfriend front?" or "when are you going to find Mr. Right?" But Paul doesn't treat singleness as a curse. In fact he states that both marriage and singleness are gifts from God. ( 1 Cor. 7:7) Paul, single himself, recognized the unique opportunities he had to devote his life to sharing the gospel, because he did not have a family. (1 Cor. 7:29-35)

Question: If you are single, are you bitter, or are you considering how you may use your singleness to devote your life to service to God in a unique way?

2) Godly marriages require mutual submission. In today's social/political climate, personal independence is as prevalent as ever. Marriages today function with more personal autonomy and less couple unity then ever before. Paul makes an astounding declaration "The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does." (1 Cor.7:3-4) While these statements unequivocally affirm a total equality between husband and wife, they also demand a mutual submission. When a man marries his wife, he has entrusted his heart and his body to her, and the wife has committed her heart and body to her husband. Therefore they are not free to give their heart to another, nor to be unfaithful with another...they have given authority over their body, sexually, to their spouse. What a magnificent commitment of devotion, and hedge of protection that reality provides, if only we would adhere to it.

Question: If God brings a future spouse into your life, how does Paul's teaching on mutual submission affect your understanding of the commitment the marriage covenant demands?

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Reading: 1 Corinthians 7