“I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 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.”
1 Corinthians 7:32-34 ESV
The married man/woman is anxious about how to please his wife/husband.
Pleasing our spouses here is described as a “worldly anxiety.” This surprises me, not because of experience but because I guess I’ve always seen marriage as a creation of God therefore how could it interfere with other things of God.?
But I guess the ways in which a husband and wife please one another are worldly or fleshly things. Before this passage in the book of Corinthians there is talk of not depriving one another physically.
It occurred to me that this divided interest can be minimized if both spouses are going after Jesus Christ equally. If both are seeking him and actively sacrificing their lives to please the Lord. Laying down what we want and expect out of life can free the spouse up a bit to focus on seeking and pleasing the Lord.
Their pursuit of him can grow together, it can perhaps be enhanced by the marriage rather than distracted by it, which is so common.
Paul also alluded to this at the end of chapter 7. He describes how the Jesus follower is to lay aside their current state in exchange for the kingdom of God.
“This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.”
1 Corinthians 7:29-31 ESV
At the end he reasons “the present form of this world is passing away.”
Which implies the present state of marriage is passing away as well. According to the spirit of God, we are to live, if possible, as if that were true now. Live as if the future were current.
Could you lay down you demands on your spouse in order to seek the Lord? Could you die daily from what you think you need from her/ him?
I think the answer to that is yes for most serious Jesus followers, at least periodically.
But why bother? Why do something which might be that uncomfortable?
The answer i think is repeated in chapter seven. “Pleasing the Lord” which really gets my attention. Knowing he is pleased with me is a great motivator for me. Also “securing our undivided devotion to the Lord.”
Let your anxiety and the anxiety of your spouse be focused on how to please the Lord Jesus. Just as if you were single Christians. Don’t be your spouses distraction from the Lord Jesus.
Let your spouse be Undivided to the Lord and maybe they will return the favor.
