Choose Wisely


1 Corinthians 7:36-40
36If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin. 37But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. 38So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better. 39A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. 40Yet in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

As Paul draws this chapter on marriage to a close, he makes one last comment that we do well to examine closely. “…free to be married … only in the Lord.” Marriage has fallen on hard times in our culture. Because of free sexual practices, marriage has been relegated to a back burner for large segments of the population. But these ideas could not be further from Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 7.

I am regularly saddened by the choices for marriage partners that people inside the church make. The faith or lack thereof of their potential spouses is generally not even a consideration for most. Paul knew that this was setting yourself up for failure. His words actually prohibit marrying someone outside of Christianity. His wisdom here cannot be taken lightly. If your faith is important to you, then so should the faith of your partner be as well. If they are an unbeliever, that sets the believer up for sadness and struggle. I don’t want to be too strident here. But this is important. The wise single person who holds their faith dear would do well to not even date a person who does not share that faith. I know – easy for me to say on this side of a 39-year marriage. But I speak from experience when I say that was at least one struggle we didn’t have to face. One cannot say that marriage to an unbeliever is sin, but it certainly dances on the trap-door of temptation. With that said, we must always remember that Jesus can redeem any situation. I have also known people who have come to faith because of their believing spouse.

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