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).