Take a moment to read 1 Corinthians 7:1-11 before reading the devotional below.
Yesterday Paul gave instructions about how we can live in freedom with our bodies as followers of Jesus. Today, he gives some practical thoughts on how to succeed in doing that. If you want to avoid sexual immorality, then having a committed sexual partner in a husband or wife is a way to do that. Singleness (and abstinence) is even better, but most people would have a hard time maintaining a celibate lifestyle. Paul had found a calling in that, but he certainly acknowledges that not everyone can reign in their sexual desires.
If you are married, you shouldn’t aspire to singleness. Paul is not trying to glamorize that option as spiritually better. However, if for some reason the marriage doesn’t last, then singleness would be a spiritually wise choice to allow for the possibility of reconciliation.
Here’s your freedom for today:
You are free to live a different kind of life.
Some may read today’s passage and think of it as antiquated or strange. While I do not think it is meant for only an ancient-times audience, it certainly is strange. The world does not operate with these rules today. The important thing to remember is that the Corinthians’ world didn’t operate this way either. Paul wouldn’t have had to write about how to manage sexuality if the Corinthians already had models for that. Being a follower of Jesus meant living a different kind of life — for the Corinthians and for us today. We do not have to be slaves to our bodies. We can choose to live on purpose, including sexually. There is spiritual freedom when we are intentional with how we use our bodies and what lifestyle we choose to live.