Day 17 - 1 Corinthians 7:1-9

7 Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to abstain from sexual relations. 2 But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.

3 The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. 4 The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.

5 Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another.

8 So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. 9 But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.

Tori's Comments:

The part that really sticks out to me at this point in my life is singleness. I go to a bible college [insert marriage joke here] and have been asked multiple times already, despite it being three weeks into the semester, whether I have found love yet. I understand some of it is teasing, but not all of it. And then I have to explain that I am going to bible college to actually gain knowledge. To use it to find a husband would be ridiculous and expensive.

Of course, I say this all in a loving way ;)

I will get off of my soapbox now. 

Note: I have read Terrie's section. I find it funny that she reads this through a married perspective and I through a single perspective. Well, maybe it isn't funny, but I found it so anyways. It just shows that as you move through life and find yourself in different stages, different passages and scriptures will impact you more.


Terrie's Comments:
I am married so I read this through married perspective.  This passage should clear it up in anyone's mind that using the absence of intimacy as a way to punish your spouse or to get your own way is not ok.  This is a an area of our marriages that should be guarded so that Satan cannot get in and destroy our marriages and our families.  It isn't the only area Satan likes to attack, but in our world of hyper sexuality I would guess it is becoming more and more a tool he can use to "steal kill and destroy" our families.  

Also we need to stop putting pressure on people who are able to be single and not be tempted to be married.  If God has called them to be single... awesome!  We need to learn to support and embrace singleness. 


Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!