Paul said the married cannot please God...let’s discuss why.....

This is crucial....people like to ignore this verse.....but it is truth

I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the work of the Lord, how he can please the Lord. But the married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how he can please his wife, and his interests are divided.


Hi Naomi,

Paul is not saying that married people cannot please God. He is referring to those who are single and therefore are freer to do more work for the Kingdom. If you are married you have another person to consider in all that you do. Single people have more freedom to do more things..

The single man has only to worry about himself, the married man has his wife and himself to worry about (and probably kids). Marriage is good and so is singleness. That's the gist of Paul's point.

Paul actually said that the single person is concerned with how to please the Lord, but the married person is concerned with things of the world and how to please their spouse. 1 Cor 7:32-35 So marriage necessarily takes part of the focus that you could undividedly devote to the Lord while you were single (how many do / did is another question entirely), but that's a far cry from saying a married person cannot please God.

Paul taught that marriage was ordained of God to be a reflection of the relationship between Christ and the church (Eph. 5:22-33), and he also taught that elders/bishops should be the husbands of one wife (Tit. 1:5-9). With such things as these in mind, it's preposterous to even suggest that Paul taught that those who are married cannot please God.

But when God called...they all gave excuses...one bought land...one married..etc etc...
read the parable ...mans rejection of the call

Jesus was leading the Way...to truth....
the solitary path
not a path of marriage
as is the custom of earth
as the Lord says...their guilt is ever before me...
and again...why is your countenance down...if you do well shall it not be well with you soul

why does the conscience worry mankind....do you think it is because of the voice that one has rejected...for the sake of the wide road
Trying to understand why people find it so difficult to just obey God ...without question
unless they like to hear nice things....as the prophets have said

haha at the time many men actually had more than ONE wife...think the restriction for elders was just to ONE wife so it would be easier. That would have cut down those eligble.

Paul wasnt saying to Titus go get married. He was just talking about him appointing elders. Paul wasnt married and neither was Titus.

CANNOT please God? Wow, I'll have to let my pastor and his wife know all their work for the church was for nothing.

I've seen some good people marry other good people and become GREAT teams who did wonderful things for God. Maybe that verse doesn't mean what you think it means.

I totally agree that it says what it says. It was suggested that Paul was an older man. I would think it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that he was married at one time. I can totally relate to what Paul was saying. I’ve been married with children for over two decades. My life has hardly been my own. If or when my wife dies I will absolutely not seek to replace her. I will fully enjoy the sovereignty of my decisions. What I eat, where I go, how much I spend and use of free time will not effect anyone but me.

If a man is a sailing vessel, a woman can be a mighty sail assisting him greatly, swiftly bringing him to all of the places the Lord steers him, or .....she can be an anchor.

I think you need to learn to read your Bible in context. That parable Luke 14:16-24 really has nothing to do with whether people should marry or not. It was about making last minute excuses and putting other legitimate things ahead of God's invitation when it's time to act and if you do then others will be invited to take your place.

There is simply too much about marriage in a positive light in the scripture to make the case that it is a lesser or sinful way of life for a Christian. Christians have the option to marry, and if they do they are to do it well and honor God in that relationship and that's completely possible.

The closest we ever get to Jesus implying that singleness might be better is Matt 19:10-12 and even there it's the disciples who conclude that it's better not marry and Jesus tells them not everyone can accept that.

So if you want to stay single and devote yourself to serving God, it's definitely within the options for faithful Christian living. But nowhere in the Bible is it commanded of everyone or really even stated that it's an overall better or more faithful way of life. And you don't serve God by trying to put commands on people that God doesn't put.

the Bible doesnt forbid anyone to marry either. I think its pretty open ended on both sides what you choose to do. But it does warn people about the cost of marrying, particularly for women and does say that women are happier single.

yes it actually says this. Look up in letter to Corinthians if you dont believe me. lol

You apparently missed my intended point:

That married men were elders/bishops.

Paul wouldn't have condoned/allowed the same if the OP's ridiculous assertion was true.

just curious

Jesus said we must only listen to Him....as every instruction is of God
and We know it is in accordance with the words of Moses and the Prophets
we cannot listen to fallen man...or else we will be meat for the vultures
neither must they be trusted
God said we must be strong
once a person is made weak...they can’t walk
they Are trapped in a cycle....
so they look for company....telling people what they want to hear
all the blind gathered together
And the world goes on...all returning to the grave

By your own words, we shouldn't listen to you.

However, Jesus didn't say we must only listen to Him. If you think He did, then you are obligated to support your belief with evidence from the Bible.

While it is true that singles have more free time than married couples (especially with children), Paul makes it sound like singles are not concerned with worldly affairs at all and have loads of free time to help he church which isn't true unless the person works full time in ministry. What do Paul's verses really mean?

I think it's helpful to look at what Paul has been saying leading up to verses 32ff (1 Cor 7).

1 Cor 7:6-7 -

I say this as a concession, not as a command. I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

So clearly Paul is saying that being married or single are both a 'gift' (v7).

So what does Paul mean when referring to married people being concerned with 'worldly troubles' (v28) and 'worldly things' (v34)?

Well it's not just free or spare time, it's all that you do will be for your family -providing a safe secure home, bringing up children, work to provide for the home and the list goes on. The mans thoughts are how to please his wife (v33) and the wife how to please her husband (v34c) and by extension the care of the family unit within society. This is what Paul means by 'his interests are divided (v34a)'. This is not saying that Christ is not to be first in their lives.

The single person is in actual fact free from all those burdens. Yes you may have a full time job, you may have a mortgage. But if you so wished you could resign tomorrow and go and serve wherever and in whatever capacity you feel called, you do not have the burden of 'divided care'. You don't have to 'please' a spouse in other words put your spouse and kids needs before your own.

Paul's not saying singles don't have responsibilities, he's just saying that you don't have the same 'worldy' burden which married couples have. therefore your concern can be holy to serve the Lord... in whatever situation you have been called N.B v 17!

Anyhow that's what I see as the gist of what Paul means. I'm not sure if that has answered your question but hopefully in some way has helped.

I'm all for the single life, but original post seems out of place. If you want to get married, or are currently married, there are many people that married in the Bible; Job, Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, Joseph, and many others.

It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists,
and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry and to
build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge
of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ. Eph. 4:11-12

Indeed. What would be the point of God equipping some to be pastors and teachers,
if all refused to listen to them? I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will
feed you with knowledge and understanding. Jeremiah 3:15

While as a single man I would never really know but I can tell the burden, the weight on the shoulders of those who are married, esp with children. It's not the same - it's not just the available time you have but the weight/responsibility you have to carry as a father/mother is on a different level from the ones singles have.

Indeed it is. I felt that weight heavily when I was married and my kids were young. Now that I am single again and my kids are adults, the weight I feel is much different. Lighter in many ways, perhaps heavier in the sense that I feel more responsibility for my position in the church and society. Light is... well... light, but salt is heavy.

And the cycle goes on...children of the children of the children..
all say the same thing...regardless of whatever religion....the deed and mindset is the same
Jesus said we must learn from Him and follow....
Jesus walked a solitary path...showing us the way to the Father
the true path the only path
free to find God without the heavy burden society places on people with all their silly rules
its like climbing a steep mountain with huge rocks on your back...you won’t make it. To the summit

you have to leave the rocks behind
and flee from the monsters who put it there
then the Lord will teach you how to fight the great dragon
that hinders your path
and you will reach the top.
to see the Father