But I want you to be without care.  He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord – how he may please the Lord.  (33) But he who is married cares about the things of the world – how he may please his wife.  (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.  (35) And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.

The Apostle Paul wrote the first letter to the Corinthians and the verses we study today concern undistracted devotion to God.  Marriage is not an eternal state but one for this earthly age.  It is an institution to be entered into or not.  What Paul is saying here is that marriage can cause a conflict of interest while remaining a single person gives an opportunity to serve God with no conflicting obligations.  But the single state does not automatically result in this high purpose.  We are called to a certain condition in life but should not be expecting that being single or married to be the answer to  holy or happy living.

There seems to be a conflict on this issue in Corinth in the days of the early Church.  Jewish people felt you have to be married and the Greeks are saying you can be more spiritual as a single person.  Paul is saying it doesn’t matter – either is fine and neither is good or bad.  In those days marriage was the standard accepted by society.  But Paul is also saying that God has gifted people for the single life and it’s different from marriage but no less significant.  God has a plan and both single and married life were designed and blessed by God.

In preparing for the verses this week I came upon an example of choices made by Mary and Martha and  how they could relate to single vs. married life.  When Jesus visited their home Mary abandoned any effort to prepare for hospitality for the guests and chose to sit at the Lord’s feet, totally focused on His teaching while Martha was distracted and had divided attention to the things of the world.  Martha complained to Jesus asking him to instruct Mary to help with the worldly preparation for the meal and Jesus answered her saying that she (Martha) was anxious and troubled about many things.  He further told her that Mary had chosen the better way and that he would not have this taken from her.  That was her gift.

So Paul is saying that both single life and married life is good but there are divided cares and loyalties in marriage.