Again, what you want is one thing, what God wants is quite another. Contentment is aligning what you want with what God wants, resentment is aligning what God wants with what you want.
Contentment in singlehood
- Thread starter Edith
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The only thing that bothers me is the idolatry of marriage, as though earthly marriage is a substitute of your salvation.
Who is presuming?
Like, quote ONE SINGLE POST in this entire thread where anybody presumed God owes anybody a spouse?
You're arguing against something that nobody here is arguing for.
But you like arguing so much that you keep assuming people are arguing for it, just so you can keep arguing against it.
Why?
But why? Why is arguing against something so important to you that you use TACTICS TO KEEP IT GOING?
Are you really that bored? I could recommend some good video games, anime, manga, some great stand-up comedy people on youtube...
Well, what all did Paul say, in totality? In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul says he has no "commandment from God" about this. Paul says that he wishes that everyone was single like him ── not that God wishes it. He says that he, personally, is content with being single ── but he admits that not everyone is like that. He says that it's good to stay single, but that it's better to marry if you have strong desires. Paul "supposes" that it's better to stay single because of "the present distress," some crisis that the church in Corinth was dealing with at the time. He says you're not sinning by marrying. Paul says a widow would be happier if she stayed single, but he admits that this is just a personal opinion. Evidently, many people are not happier being single. In 1 Timothy 4:1-3 Paul also condemns people who forbid marriage. And if Paul wrote the Book of Hebrews, then he also said that marriage is a good thing.
If you want to argue that Paul wanted every Christian of every future era to stay single, well, there's lots of other things Paul said that you kind of have to, well, ignore.
I don't believe that marriage is a substitute for salvation. As far as I know, nobody on this thread has made this claim. I don't personally know any Christians who believe that, either. Do you know any? Or do you just assume that every Christian who desires marriage, or get married, believes this sort of thing?
It's OK to want marriage. It's even OK to badly want marriage. In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul talks about people who "burn with passion" but he doesn't accuse those people of "idolatry" or or believing that marriage is a "substitute for salvation." He encourages those people to get married. He even says that it's "better" for those people to marry.
God allows each individual to choose whether to marry or not marry. Paul does warn that those that marry may face many varied problems during the marriage. That is not necessarily a bad thing because I believe that how one handles the struggles in life is how we are defined.
How did you form your estimation that marriage is a form of idolatry and therefore may become a substitute for salvation? Never heard anyone express that sentiment before. It borders on the bizzare.
Ignore your own presumption then. Neither I nor Paul argue for any one-size-fits-all recipe.
And I've explained that it's not, because you shall not covet. Coveting what doesn't belong to you, what's certainly out of your league, you'll only end up like that fox cursing the grapes to be sour.
If you still don't get it, I've explained it before - it's OK for a single to want a companion, it's OK for a companion to want a long term boyfriend/girlfriend, it's OK for a boyfriend/girlfriend to want a fiancee, it's OK for a fiancee to want marriage; but it's NOT OK for single to skip all these parts and want marriage, because it's simply unrealistic, as unrealistic as any get rich quick or lose weight quick scheme.
Be content with current state, either married or single.
People married should definitely stay in by God's teaching.
People single are welcome to search, but don't go out of God's command, such as search for a believer, stay pure and Holy....and search happily, don't cry about current state.
People married should definitely stay in by God's teaching.
People single are welcome to search, but don't go out of God's command, such as search for a believer, stay pure and Holy....and search happily, don't cry about current state.
Why are you bothered by the status of singleness, then? Be content with whatever circumstance God puts you in, that's the spirit.
With due respect, I'm not bored at all. How about you being less snarky and irritated.
I am not the one that is bothered about the status of singleness. For the record, I am happily married and have been for years. I do agree with you however in being content with whatever circumstances God puts you in. You can also pray that God allows your circumstance to change in a more positive way so as better to serve him, and to provide a more abundant life.
Maybe because I'm bored and this is entertaining...
Actually no. I really am curious why you keep arguing against something nobody here is arguing for.
I mean your persistence is inspiring. You keep hammering away at it, as though thousands are trying to say God has somebody for everybody. But nobody in this thread has made that claim.
It's like if I went down with a picket sign and started picketing in front of city hall that we need to get all these feral dogs off the streets. We don't have a feral dog problem here. But I sure could yell about it in front of city hall...
So again, why do you keep arguing against something nobody is arguing for?
Marriage is a social institution for all mankind, not just for Jews or Christians, it was made a holy sacrament by the 4th Lateran Council in the 13th century, before that, it was a secular union for economic and political purposes, it wasn't romanticized like it is today.
Also, marriage itself is neutral, its quality soly depends on the quality of you and your partner. It cannot magically transform you overnight, especially when you marry at an older age.