Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

Although God instituted marriage (as recorded in Genesis 2:18-24), and it is an altogether honorable state between a man and a woman that most people (whether Christians or not) experience, I think that the clearest statement from a Christian perspective on the specific question being asked is the guidance of Paul (who, by his own admission in 1 Corinthians 7:7, was never married) in that same chapter (1 Corinthians 7).

While Paul said that being unmarried was a preferable state for a Christian -- whether a man or a woman -- (because the Christian's priorities and loyalties would then not be divided between God and the Christian's spouse, plus the Christian would not then have the added cares and concerns that can uniquely result from married life), he also recognized that not all individuals were suited to such a celibate lifestyle.

If a Christian was unable to maintain the physical and emotional self-control required by a celibate life over the sexual aspect of his or her being, it was then preferable for the Christian to marry rather than to have his or her thoughts and actions be dominated by carnal urges or impulses for which the only divinely approved ultimate outlet was monogamous heterosexual marriage.

However, as long as the unmarried Christian can exercise the self-control required by a celibate life, the Christian faith contains no requirement, command, or compulsion for the person (whether male or female) to marry. In fact, Paul indicated that, as long as such self-control was present, the person who could refrain from marriage was (in his opinion) doing better than the person who married (1 Corinthians 7:38).

July 27 2019 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report