Why should we worry about marriage negatively affecting our commitment to God? (1 Corinthians 7:34)
Context: 32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. (ESV)
1 Corinthians 7:34
NKJV - 34 There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world - how she may please her husband.
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Asked August 28 2020
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Jack Gutknecht
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Tim Maas
In my opinion, Paul very clearly addresses the question being asked by the content of the passage that the question itself cites. The more earthly obligations an individual has (even if those obligations arise from marriage, which was an institution initiated by God Himself), the more the finite amount of time avaliable to the individual will be taken up by them. Although it could be argued that a spouse's efforts to please and/or care for his or her partner are in a way being rendered vicariously to God, and as admirable and meritorious as those efforts may be, Paul is saying that they are not the same as serving God directly through full-time devotion to Him and to His work, without the divided attention that marriage entails.
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