Advice I Need To Give Myself (About Being Single)

You will have "trouble in the flesh".

You will have "trouble in the flesh".

You will have "trouble in the flesh".

How many times do I have to get this through your thick skull?

By the way, I'm preaching to myself here.  It's from I Corinthians 7:28:

1 Corinthians 7:28 (KJV)

28 But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.

Paul is talking about how being married, while not a sin, is a distraction from serving Christ.  He continues:

1 Corinthians 7:32-35 (KJV)

32 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:

33 But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.

34 There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.

35 And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.

If you're single, you can focus more on pleasing the Lord.  If you're married, you also focus on worldly things.  Now, Paul isn't suggesting that you're loving the world if you're married.  He's just saying marriage makes things more difficult.  I mean, for men, a wife is still a good thing:

Proverbs 18:22 (KJV)

22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.

But we are also warned:

Proverbs 21:9 (KJV)

9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

Ladies, I'm sorry, I don't know of any Scripture verse that warns you against wicked men.  This is all I got.

Anyway, what drove me to write about marriage and being single?  Well, when I feel frustrated that there aren't any Christian women available to date, let alone marry, I listen to a guy named Aaron Clarey, who repeatedly warns that most single women in the modern church aren't even Christian, but simply using Christianity to manipulate men.  Again, ladies, I'm sorry, Aaron Clarey doesn't talk much about how some guys are deadbeats.  Then again, the #metoo movement has that base covered already.  It is a fact that there exists creepy men in this world.

But, here's my take on why I'm a little leery towards dating, and it all has to do with one single, yet powerful word: DIVORCE.  Divorce is WAY too easy to obtain, and I want to make sure whoever I marry, if I marry, will stick it out till death do us part.  Why am I so serious about this?  Because God is.  He HATES divorce (Malachi 2:16), and if my wife and I divorce, if I marry someone else, I COMMIT ADULTERY. (Matthew 19:19).  If I marry someone who is divorced, I COMMIT ADULTERY. (Matthew 5:32), If my wife marries someone else, SHE COMMITS ADULTERY. (Mark 10:12).  

This is as CLEAR as CRYSTAL! THOU...SHALT...NOT...COMMIT...ADULTERY! (Exodus 20:14)

Which also means the cardiac kind as well! (Matthew 5:28)

Now you're saying, "Woah dude, we get it.  Adultery is bad.  And yes, it does say that adulterers do not inherit the Kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19,21).  But it's not the WORST sin in the world, is it?"

You're right.  It's not (see Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-30, and Luke 12:10 for something worse).  Why I am so adamant about avoiding adultery (and also fornication) is twofold:

1. As I've said before, adultery is one of many sins that, in my opinion, is the easiest in the world to understand, because it's made so abundantly clear.

2. Adultery is similar to fornication, which Paul also makes clear is a distinct sin from others:

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 (KJV)

18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

So yeah, I'm a little OCD when it comes to sexual sin.  I'm by no means perfect in this (believe me, the temptation to commit cardiac adultery [and/or fornication, I think the context also fits this] exists, given the Internet).

So, yeah, it's much easier right now to be single.  Right now, I'm enjoying my freedom, even to the point of tears, but that's for another day (which I might think about discussing later).

On Puritanism and Being Happy

A while back, I was watching Jeopardy, and there came across a clue that gave me pause.  It was the December 15, 2023 broadcast.  In the category "WISH I SAID THAT!" for $1,200:

H.L. Menken defined Puritanism as "the hanting fear that someone, somewhere, may be" this word.

The correct response was "What is happy?"

(details retrieved from J! Archive)

So, the first thought I got out of that was "Do Puritans think it virtuous to be unhappy?" Or better yet, "Do Puritans think it vice to be happy?"

Of course, Puritans are well known for outlawing the celebration of Christmas under penalty of a five shilling fine.  This I take no issue with, for they are separating the holiday and the event the holiday alleges to honor.  I could go on and on about how Christmas is a wicked holiday (mixing the birth of Christ with worldly traditions, violating Romans 12:2 for example, worshipping the false Christ of the modern Nativity scene, which is biblically inaccurate, therefore it's a false Christ), but that's for another day.  

Yet, how strict are Puritans on other aspects of life, and what does Scripture say about all this?  First, the argument from the Puritans.  I am quoting Dr. Leon Kellner, who is quoted by Menken himself in his work "Puritanism as a Literary Force":

"Absorption in God," he says, "seems incompatible with the presentation (i.e., aesthetically) of mankind. The God of the Puritans was in this respect a jealous God who brooked no sort of creative rivalry. The inspired moments of the loftiest souls were filled with the thought of God and His designs; spiritual life was wholly dominated by solicitude regarding salvation, the hereafter, grace; how could such petty concerns as personal experience of a lyric nature, the transports or the pangs of love, find utterance? What did a lyric occurrence like the first call of the cuckoo, elsewhere so welcome, or the first sight of the snowdrop, signify compared with the last Sunday's sermon and the new interpretation of the old riddle of evil in the world? And apart from the fact that everything of a personal nature must have appeared so trivial, all the sources of secular lyric poetry were offensive and impious to Puritan theology.... One thing is an established fact: up to the close of the eighteenth century America had no belletristic literature."

Now, it is true that God is a jealous god (Exodus 34:14 paints it really well, even calling God's NAME "Jealous"), as is the god of the Puritans.  I would also imagine that the Puritans would justify focusing more on spiritual matters than that of this world with this passage:

Colossians 3:2 (KJV)

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

This would indeed be applicable in cases of fandom, whose main purpose is to be affectionate towards the object of fandom.  This would indeed be loving the world and the things in it (I John 2:15), which leads to Hell (for the love of the Father is not in such a person).

But what about the enjoyment of worldly things, IN AND OF ITSELF?  What about the "first call of the cuckoo", or the "first sight of a snowdrop", or even "secular lyric poetry" (I confess the latter is a personal favorite of mine, which I myself may need to curb)?  What does the Bible say?

Plenty.

Let's start with the Book of Romans, which says:

Romans 14:14 (KJV)

14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

Now, the context is food, but as verse 21 later suggests, this can apply to other things as well ("any thing").

Romans 14:19-23 (KJV)

19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.

21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

See that Puritans?  Verse 22 says HAPPY!  And that's in your sacred King James Version too!

I go on:

1 Corinthians 7:29-31 (KJV)

29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;

30 And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;

31 And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.

I highlighted verse 31 to show that you are allowed to use the things of the world, but to not be attached to them.  

I also want to point to v. 30 concerning rejoicing.  There is a time for rejoicing (Ecclesiastes 3:1).  In my opinion, we can rejoice if we deem it necessary (such as in the day of prosperity says Ecclesiastes 7:14), yet we shouldn't rejoice for its own sake (from "as though they rejoiced not").  Correct me if I'm wrong (Proverbs 6:23).

Now, it is written in Colossians:

Colossians 2:20-23 (KJV)

20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;

22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

Anything that's not commanded in Scripture is likely a commandment of men.

In Titus:

Titus 1:15 (KJV)

15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

Now, I am not at all saying we should embrace worldly things with reckless abandon.  We are still to not be fans, for that is loving the world, by it's very definition.  This world is not our home, and we are not to place our roots in it.  Writing to Timothy, Paul said:

2 Timothy 2:4 (KJV)

4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

The affairs of this life is none of our business.  Pleasing Christ, our commanding officer, is.  But with Christ as our commanding officer, we do have freedom:

1 Corinthians 7:22 (KJV)

22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant.

But at the same time, remember (this time I'm using the ESV since it's clearer in my opinion):

Galatians 5:13 (ESV)

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

If what is said about the Puritans is correct, the Puritans have it all wrong in forbidding things that need not be forbidden.  Only to be unattached to such things is enough.

Sources:

Mencken, H. L. “Puritanism As A Literary Force.” A Book of Prefaces, by H.L. Mencken, A.A. Knopf, New York, 1922.

From americanliterature.com

John 10:5, Mar Mari Emmanuel, and the Syriac Church

 John 10:5 reads:

John 10:5 (ESV)

5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Now, who is a stranger?  In John 10, Jesus talks about how he is the door of the sheep (v. 7), and the shepherd Himself (v. 11).  Thus, a stranger is someone who is not Christ, but rather a thief and a robber (v. 1), that is, a false teacher who will steal the sheep (the believers) from the Truth, and thus, from salvation.

The sheep do not recognize the voice of anyone except Christ, so they flee from the stranger.

So, why am I talking about this?  Well, on my YouTube feed, I came across this gentleman named Mar Mari Emmanuel, he has a white beard, dresses in black, has a black and gold-ish head covering, and has a gold-ish cross hanging from his neck.  In my opinion, he looks like he belongs to an Eastern Orthodox church.  In his videos, he preaches from a pulpit with a backdrop with lettering in Arabic.  He is a part of what's called "Syriac Christianity".  I looked it up.  They also do sacraments, four of which are said to be essential to salvation, which are Baptism, Confirmation, Repentance, and Eucharist. (source: Syriac Orthodox Resources).

Syriac Orthodox Resources also says:

"The Syriac Orthodox Church conforms to the teachings of the Three Ecumenical Councils of Nicea (A.D. 325), Constantinople (A.D. 381), and Ephesus (A.D. 431).  It rejects the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451)"

This here fails the sniff test immediately, for Jeremiah 17:5 says:

Jeremiah 17:5 (KJV)

5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

Oh, some more stuff:

The Syriac church has its adherents pray seven times a day, because they say Psalm 119:64 says so:

Psalms 119:164 (KJV)

164 Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.

One problem:  Just because David praised God seven times a day, doesn't mean that is the minimum number of times a Christian must do so.  Now, nothing wrong with praying in this frequency, for we are told to "pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17).  

But that's all that is said about prayer frequency, NOTHING ELSE! (Proverbs 30:6)

And going on with the Syriac Orthodox Resources, you find a bunch of stuff that obviously fits the following:

Matthew 15:9 (KJV)

9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Based on all this, Mar Mari Emmanuel and the Syriac Church, at the very least, does not pass the sniff test.  For such people and churches John 10:5 applies, and if you doubt that such a person or church fits into that category, Jeremiah 17:5 applies too.