1 Corinthians 7:27

Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord, yet I give my judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be faithful. I suppose, therefore, that it is good for the present distress. I say that it is good for a man so to be. Are you bound to a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife. But if you marry, you have not sinned, and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless, such shall have trouble in the flesh, but I spare you.

This I say, brethren: the time is short. It remains that both they who have wives be as though they had none, and they who weep as though they wept not, and they who rejoice as though they rejoiced not, and they who buy as though they possessed not, and they who use this world as not abusing it. For the fashion of this world is passing away.

Father, we ask as we look into Your Word this afternoon that You would continue to speak to us by Your Spirit. We pray that You would continue to transform us by the renewing of our minds as we come in contact with passages of Scripture that are challenging. Lord, that really confront our cultural mindset and our worldview. We pray that You would, by Your Spirit, even in this very moment, be preparing our hearts to receive from You, that we would be more like You in the way that we think, the way that we act, and the way that we react. We pray that You would transform us body, soul, and spirit, for we ask it in Jesus' name. And all God's people agreed, saying amen.

You can be seated. As you likely remember, Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 7 is speaking quite a bit on the topic of marriage, for there was division within the church at Corinth as there were those who came to Christ from a Jewish background, which held that marriage...

The ultimate purpose of man is the ultimate desire of God. Ultimately, man would be married and fulfill that first commandment we see in the book of Genesis: to be fruitful and multiply. Therefore, the Jews looked upon someone who was of marriageable age and single with a frown, so to speak, considering them maybe even to be cursed. They expected that marriage was the prime goal.

However, in the church at Corinth, there were Greek believers—Christians who came from a Gentile background—who believed the best way to serve the Lord was to be wholly devoted to Him and to remain single. Clearly, there was a problem, a division over this very issue. Some said that singleness is best, while others argued that marriage is best. Paul, from the very beginning of this chapter, has made it very clear that neither one is better than the other; neither one is more spiritual or more blessed than the other.

In the first several verses of chapter 7, he made it clear that singleness or celibacy is a good thing, although it can be a tempting thing. He also made clear that marriage is a good thing as well. When we come to verse 25, he says, "Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord." This is not a confession from Paul that this passage is somehow not inspired, for we know that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is useful for doctrine and instruction. Paul is saying there is no commandment that Jesus gave during His earthly ministry regarding the issue of virgins.

He continues, "But concerning them, I have something to say as an apostle, as one who has received mercy from the Lord and is faithful in the work. I give my judgment; I give you my wisdom. I suppose therefore that it is good for the present distress. I say that it is good for a man so to be."

The word translated "virgins" in verse 25 is in the feminine, and Paul is apparently talking about those young ladies in the church who had never been married and were not married. He says that for the present distress, it is good for them to remain in that single state. You see, the default assumption was that women would be married. Paul has already established that it is okay for a man to remain single, but among both the Jews and the Greeks, they expected that women would be married. If a woman was not married, they looked upon her as if...

Something was wrong. Unfortunately, we still carry that kind of mindset into our own culture sometimes. But Paul here says concerning young women, virgins, that it's okay for them to remain single, I suppose, for the present distress.

Now, some people wonder, as he says in verse 26, how can he say it is good for a man so to be when he is talking about virgin women? The word "man" there is the Greek word "Anthropos." While it is in the masculine, it speaks of humankind or human beings as a whole, both male and female. Paul says for both males and females, it is okay and even good to be single; it is not necessarily a bad thing.

The problem is that we, in our culture, and the Jews in their culture of old, had this view that one should be married. Sometimes we impose upon people the pressure that they should get married when, in reality, God has perhaps called them to singleness. In verse 27, he says, "Are you bound to a wife? Seek not to be loose." This is already an established truth from chapter seven. Paul has been pushing this perspective quite a bit.

He then adds, "Are you loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife." We all start this life single, and once we get married, we are not supposed to become single again. It is important, while you are single, to recognize whether or not the Lord may be calling you to remain in that position as a single person, as unto the Lord.

For some, this is a difficult exhortation to follow. Among single people, the desire for marriage can at times be extremely intense, especially when there is a cultural push or pressure for people to get married. We look at people who are of marriable age and are not married, and we think, "What’s wrong with you? You should get married." We encourage them to find somebody.

But Paul here says, if you are not married, do not seek a spouse. The problem with seeking a spouse, in this context, is that the word translated "seek" speaks of striving to find or demanding to get something. Paul says, do not seek a spouse. Do not seek a wife. Why? Because in seeking and striving to find that which God has not brought to you at that moment may cause you to find yourself in a less than ideal situation. Some people have sought for a spouse and they found one.

There are a lot of single people in the world, but they are not necessarily married to a person who is equally yoked. Paul advises not to seek a spouse or a wife. The very same word translated as "seek" in verse 27 is used by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter six, when He tells us what we are to be seeking. In Matthew 6:33, He says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

You see, the single individual needs to be holy and singularly dedicated to seeking God and His kingdom, unhindered and unencumbered. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things, including marriage, will be added to you if it is God's desire and plan for you to be married. During your time as a single person in this world, focus on seeking first the kingdom of God.

If we think back to the Garden of Eden, when God first created man, He created Adam and caused all the animals to pass by him. Adam was given the task of naming each one. As they passed by, he saw that they came in pairs: a male and a female, a part and a counterpart. However, there was not found one comparable to him; there was no counterpart for Adam. He could have determined to seek for himself a spouse, but the best he could have done was find a nice, good-looking ape. That was not God's design or plan.

So, God caused a deep sleep to come upon Adam. When he woke up from that deep sleep, God brought to him Eve, whom He had created for Adam. What did Adam say? "Whoa, man! That is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh." That was the counterpart, the right part, and God brought that into his life. Therefore, seek first the kingdom; do not seek a wife or a spouse.

Now, lest we wrongly assume that Paul is against marriage because he seems to encourage singleness in this passage, notice what he says in verse 28: "But if you marry, you have not sinned." Singleness is not bad; it is not better. Marriage is not sin; it is not superior. If you marry, you have not sinned, and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. In fact, it is a legitimate option to be married.

It is good to consider first the option of singleness to see whether or not the Lord would call a person to walk in singleness, devoted to Him and walking in purity in that way. However, Paul says, "If you marry, you have not sinned. Nevertheless, you shall have trouble in the flesh." The Greek word translated as "trouble" is "philipsis." It means to be pressed together or to be under pressure. In other portions of the Bible, it is translated as tribulation, affliction, and anguish.

Have any of you married couples today experienced tribulation, anguish, affliction, or hard pressures in marriage? There are indeed troubles in the flesh because marriage is not the solution to all problems. Those who are married here today understand this reality. They recognize that there are issues in marriage that are not experienced by those who are single.

Oftentimes, single people naively expect that marriage is the answer to the problems of loneliness, sexual temptation, lust, or immorality. These issues are not simply erased or eradicated because two people are brought together as husband and wife. In fact, the truth of the matter is that when two people are bound together in marriage, the problems of human nature are multiplied, not diminished.

When two sinners are joined together in marriage, they realize that they are still sinners, but now they are connected to another sinner. For some reason, our sins seem to be amplified in a way that makes them more apparent to us in that relationship. How many of you would agree that before you were married, you didn't think you were all that selfish? Then you get married and suddenly realize that you are indeed selfish. No, you were always selfish, but now it is very clear.

Moreover, when two sinners come together in marriage, they produce new sinners. Thus, we see that there are troubles in marriage and pressures that the single person does not experience. Paul illustrates this further in the passage we will be in next week, verse 32, where he says, "But I would have you without carefulness."

He that is unmarried cares for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But he that is married cares for the things of this world, how he may please his wife. Paul does not say that this is sinful; he just makes it clear that it is a reality. It's not a bad thing; it's just a truth. Those that are married are concerned and care for the things of their spouse. God planned it to be that way. It's a reality that the single person does not experience.

Paul says that you will have trouble in the flesh, but I spare you. You have to recognize the comedy in his little addition there, that little statement, "I spare you." It makes me wonder if Paul was not married before this point. I think he probably was. Maybe he was married and understood by experience the reality of the pressures of marriage.

However, I must make it very clear that I am not speaking against marriage. Marriage is a blessing, and there are many great blessings to being married. However, I believe our culture has over-romanticized marriage to the point where many people enter into it with unreasonable expectations. It doesn't take long for those expectations to collide with the reality that marriage is work.

To have a good marriage involves work from both the husband and the wife. I remember just before I got married, my wife's parents, who have been married for more than 30 years now, told me that marriage is not a 50-50 relationship; it's a hundred-hundred. Both husband and wife need to give 100 percent for it to be a good and functioning marriage.

Marriage is work, and it's a work that many in our culture are unprepared for when they enter into it. The statistics on divorce make it very clear that there are many who are unwilling to do the work required for marriage. A good marriage does not just happen because it is two sinners being united together as one. Paul says, "I would spare you this because I would like you to be so unencumbered that you can..."

Serve the Lord in a way that you're not hindered by the troubles and pressures of marriage. Remember, Paul is speaking to a specific church at a specific time, experiencing specific details. He mentions that he is speaking regarding the present distress occurring in Corinth.

In the mid-fifties A.D., when Paul authored the letter to the Corinthians, Nero, one of the worst emperors Rome had ever had, had just come to the throne a couple of years prior. The winds of persecution were beginning to blow among the Corinthians and the church. A few years before this, the Jews were expelled from Rome, and the Christians were viewed as a sect of Judaism. Consequently, they faced persecution from those in the Roman Empire. This persecution would grow until it became state-sponsored under Nero in the mid-sixties A.D.

Paul states that because of the present distress, it is not a bad thing for you to remain single and focus on the work of the Lord. Continuing on, Paul says in verse twenty-nine, "But this I say, brethren, that the time is short. It remains that both they that have wives be as though they had none, 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 possess not, and they that use this world as not abusing it; for the fashion or the form of this world is passing away."

Paul's perspective two thousand years ago was that the time was short. It is apparent from the scriptures that he believed Jesus could return at any time for His church. Now, two thousand years later, we still hold that expectation that the Lord could return at any moment for His church. We recognize that the times are short.

Moreover, Paul understood that this life, in general, is very short. He reflected on the words of Moses in Psalm ninety, verse ten. The only Psalm written by Moses states that the days of our years are three score and ten, or the days of our lives are seventy years. If by reason of strength, they may be four score years, or eighty years. It is amazing that thousands of years ago, Moses accurately described life expectancy in the twenty-first century, which is somewhere between seventy and eighty years. The days of a man's life are indeed fleeting.

Our lives are typically seventy years, and if by reason of strength, eighty years. Notice the application in Psalm ninety, verse twelve: "So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." It is wise for us to consider and recognize that our time on this earth is very, very short. Moses understood this. The Apostle James, in James chapter four, also recognized this truth.

In James four, verse thirteen, he says, "Go to now, you that say, 'Tomorrow we will go into such a city and continue there a year and buy and sell and get gain.'" He continues, "Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow. You don't know what tomorrow holds. For what is your life? Isn't it even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away?" Moses understood that life is short, and we should apply ourselves to wisdom by recognizing this brevity. James saw that tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone.

The Apostle Peter, in First Peter chapter one, quotes Isaiah when he says, "For all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man is the flower of the field. The grass withers, and the flower fades away." Moses understood it, James saw it clearly, and Peter recognized this truth: life is short. As a result of this understanding, there should be specific changes in our lives, knowing that this life is very brief.

However, man in his flesh does not like to recognize the shortness of life. This is why so many people avoid funerals; they do not want to confront the reality of death. But the statistics are staggering: ten out of ten people die. This life is indeed very short.

So how should we apply this truth? In First Peter chapter four, Peter says in verse seven, "But the end of all things is at hand." Therefore, since time is short, what ought we to do? He advises us to be sober and watch unto prayer. Above all things, we should have fervent love among ourselves, for love shall cover a multitude of sins. We should use hospitality to one another without grudging, as every man has received the gift. Even so, we should minister the same to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Peter emphasizes that since time is short, we must act accordingly.

We ought to use the gifts that God has given to us, be loving to one another, and be a witness in this world. Not only Peter, but also the Apostle Paul emphasizes this in Romans chapter 13. He says in verse 11, "And that knowing the time, that now it is high time for us to awake out of our sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent; the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day, not in rioting or drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof."

Moses, James, Peter, Paul—we could go on and on. The Scriptures make it very clear: this life is short, and as a result, we ought to use the time that we have wisely. Notice Paul's application of this truth in 1 Corinthians chapter 7. He says, "Those that have wives ought to live as though they had none; those that weep as though they did not weep; those that rejoice as though they did not rejoice; those that buy as though they did not possess; and those that use this world as not abusing it."

Paul gives four things here that we ought to have a light grip on, knowing that the times are short and that this world is passing away. He recognizes that the fashion, or the Greek word "schema," of this world is going to pass away. There are things that we should grip lightly in this world.

We will actually look at these four things in reverse order, beginning in verse 31: "Those that use the world as not abusing it." One of the four things that we are to have a light grip on in this world is the pleasures of this world. Those that use this world are not to abuse it. You see, this world has many great things to offer, and God has given us many rich things for us to enjoy. In 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 17, Paul says, "God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy." However, while we are enjoying the rich things that He has graciously given to us, we cannot set our hearts upon them because we need to recognize that they are fleeting and passing.

All going to burn, but too many, especially in our nation, simply live to have a good time rather than glorify the Lord. They look at all the pleasurable things in this world and try to please themselves with the pleasures of this world, seeking to fill themselves and glorify themselves instead of the Lord. This is an abuse of the pleasures of this world. By indulging in these pleasures to please themselves, they fail to recognize that our ultimate purpose is to please God.

In Revelation chapter four, verse 11, we read, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for you have created all things, and for your pleasure they are and were created." God has created everything that we see, even the things that we don't see. He has created us, and all these things have been created for His pleasure. I believe that God is pleased when He sees us enjoying the things He created for us to be pleased with, seeing the creation of things around this world. God created many great things that, of themselves, are not sinful and can be enjoyed in this world. However, when we are so focused on those pleasures just to feed our own desires, then it's an abuse of what God has given us.

I recognize I will probably step on some toes with this, but inordinate leisure time and the focus on early retirement or more comfortable homes can dominate our minds to the point that we begin to neglect the spiritual areas of our lives. We can become so absorbed with the pleasures of this world. Like no other nation, our nation has so much to pleasure ourselves with, but we can become so absorbed that we fail to see what God has called us to. God has granted us many pleasures in this life, and many of them are not immoral. Enjoying those pleasures is not necessarily a bad or worldly thing until those pleasures become our sole focus, and we grasp at them instead of seeking to glorify and honor Him.

We must maintain balance in this area because the pendulum can swing far to the other side. The pendulum can swing to the point where we say we shouldn't experience...

Any of the pleasures in this world can be enjoyed, but there is a kind of asceticism that suggests we must deny every sort of pleasure. Some Christians live like somber prudes, and I do not believe that is what God intends. It is just as much an abuse of the pleasures of this world to say that we Christians are never to laugh or enjoy anything. No, there needs to be balance; we are to use this world without abusing it.

Paul says we need to have a light grip on the pleasures of this world. He also mentions that we should buy as though we possessed not. We are to have a light grip not only on the pleasures of this world but also on the possessions of this world. In 21st-century Western culture, especially in the United States of America, we are a people governed by pleasure and preoccupied with possession.

I have had the opportunity to travel all over the world and see many different cultures and ways of life. One thing I have noticed is that America is the only place where I have seen self-storage units. I have never encountered them in any other country I have visited. We have so much, and we hold on to so much that it can be said our possessions possess us.

Our belongings start in the living room, move to the closet, and then overflow into the garage, where we are supposed to park our cars but cannot because of the sheer volume of our possessions. Eventually, we need to find somewhere else for more of these items, so we seek out climate-controlled and secured storage facilities to ensure their safety. We say, "God, I have my possessions," yet Paul reminds us that we need to have a light grip on these things. We ought not to be possessed by our possessions.

How can we live in a way that we are unpossessed by our possessions? Sadly, it is often difficult to discern between the world and the church in this area. The first principle we need to recognize is that we are stewards of all that we have, not owners. We are stewards of everything we possess, not owners. In just a few chapters, when we get to First Corinthians, this principle will be further explored.

In Corinthians chapter 10, Paul quotes David from Psalm 24 in verses 26 and 28, where he states, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." Everything in this world belongs to the Lord, including you and me, and all the things that we have. He has given us these things so that we may be good stewards over them. In Psalm 50, verse 12, God Himself says, "The world is mine and the fullness thereof."

We must come to the realization that the things we have purchased or possess are not truly ours; they are the Lord's. Our flesh, however, wants to hold onto these things. It desires to grasp them tightly, and we often find ourselves in a mindset that insists, "This is mine." We struggle to let go. If something is holding you up or holding you back, consider giving it away or throwing it away. You can't take it with you. This perspective is so contrary to our self-centered thinking, and it often starts at a young age.

Just last night, my wife and I brought our kids over to Mark and Sonia Searle's house to spend some time with them. The kids were playing with some toys, and our daughter Addison, who will be a year old next month, took a basket filled with blocks and sat in it, enjoying herself immensely. It was as if that little red basket was her entire world. Her brother soon noticed how much joy she was having and wanted the basket for himself, leading to a little conflict. Thankfully, there was more than one basket available.

This situation illustrates the mindset of ownership: "This is mine." But we must remember that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. If we can come to a place where we honestly recognize that we are stewards and not owners—managers, not owners—of the things we have, we can use those gifts for His kingdom. God speaks of pleasures and possessions, and we must understand their true nature.

Weep as though they wept not, and rejoice as though they rejoiced not. We should have a light grip on our emotions; rather, I should say our emotions should have a light grip on us. It's not that Christians are to be emotionless, but they are not to be dominated and controlled by their emotions. Emotions will certainly affect us, and in some ways, they are uncontrollable because there are things that come into our lives that stir us emotionally.

Paul speaks of weeping. When affliction and suffering surface in our lives, our hearts will be moved. When a loved one is diagnosed with a terminal disease or someone close to us dies—whether without warning or even with warning—we are moved. We are emotionally stirred by these things. However, in that affliction, the mature Christian will not lose hope, should not lose purpose, and should not lose motivation in living. Yes, we will be touched by our emotions, but we ought not to be dominated by them.

Not only does Paul speak about weeping, but he also speaks about rejoicing. Our rejoicing as believers is a rejoicing in victory and in blessing. It ought to be measured in the reality of the circumstance. What do I mean by that? Well, this last Monday night, the San Francisco Giants won their first World Series since 1954. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Brian Wilson threw that third strike to Nelson Cruz. The game was over, the series was done, and the entire Giants dugout emptied as all the people gathered together on the mound, rejoicing.

But it is a measured joy in victory. How so? They know that in just a few short weeks, they will have to get ready for another season—another season that will have a very difficult schedule, and they will have opponents gunning for them, trying to find a way to dethrone them from their position. The victory of today does not assure a victory in the future. While we rejoice in that victory, we recognize that there are other battles to come. Therefore, we ought not to be overcome and overwhelmed with weeping, nor should we be overcome and overwhelmed with rejoicing. We should know.

How to rejoice in victory. We should know how to sorrow in defeat or in loss. However, we can never lose sight of the fact that there is still more to do until the Lord comes. And so we walk. In this way, our weeping ought not to derail us, and our rejoicing ought not to distract us. We should have a light grip on pleasures, possessions, and emotions.

Thirdly, marriage. Those who have wives should be as though they had none. This does not mean that husbands or wives are to neglect one another. Paul has already established, just 24 verses before this, in verse three, that the man or husband should render unto his wife, and the wife should render unto her husband, and that they are not to defraud one another. We are not to neglect our spouse. We are, however, as married couples, to work double time to fulfill our responsibilities to both our spouse and to the Lord.

This is one of the troubles and pressures of marriage. It is a pressure that a single individual does not experience, as we see in verse 32 of the same passage, where it says that those who are unmarried care for the things of the Lord, how they may please the Lord. But those who are married care for the things of this world, how they may please their spouse. One of the pressures of marriage is that, yes, we do have responsibilities to our families and to our spouse, but that cannot distract us from our responsibilities to the Lord.

Remember that in Genesis 2:18, God made Eve to be a helpmate in the work of God, not to be a distraction from the work of God. She was to help further the work and bless the work. Having a spouse does not reduce our obligation to devotion to the Lord. I find it interesting how oftentimes there will be a couple that is dating, then they get engaged, and they are serving in the children's ministry or some other ministry. Then they get married and quit all that serving. They say, "Well, I have to focus on the family." Yes, I understand focusing on the family, but where does it say that you ought not serve the Lord as well?

Over the last few weeks, as I have been thinking about this passage, I have been going back and forth on this whole idea of priorities. We have developed in our culture today this idea within the church culture of how we are to...

We often say that God is first in our lives, but typically, our priorities fall into a different order. We might say, "God is number one," followed by family, the work of God, daily employment, and then personal leisure. I am going to suggest something that goes against our culture: I believe that the second and third priorities have been flipped. It should be God first, the work of God second, and all those other things flow from that.

Why is this important? We must realize that serving God means serving our wives and families. Devotion to God overflows into faithful service to our employers. We cannot ignore the fact that the love of God is expressed in how well we care for our bodies, which are His temple, through our leisure time and rest. These aspects are equally important. The work of God encompasses family, employment, and leisure time; they all fall under or are part of the work of God. Therefore, we need to maintain balance: God first, the work of God second, and all of those other things as part of the work of God.

However, we must remember that every single one of those other things is temporal. The pleasures of this world, the possessions we accumulate, marriage, and the emotions we experience are all part of the scheme or fashion of this world, and they will pass away. Jesus makes it very clear in Matthew 22 that there will be no marriage in heaven. The next life will be different from this one. The things we possess in this life will not be our possessions in the next. The things that bring us pleasure in this life will not be the same in the next. The emotions that stir us now will not be the same in the next life. All those things are passing away; the form of this world is passing away.

Our focus, therefore, should be on those things that are eternal: God and His work. His work will continue into eternity. For those who have wives, they should live as though they had none—not in neglect, but with the proper balance and perspective. It is amazing how we will reorder our lives and schedules to accommodate worldly pursuits.

We'll reorder our family relationships so that we can have this practice, this class, and this activity. However, the work of God often falls to the side because we prioritize it below family and the work of the Lord. I would argue that the work of the Lord needs to be much higher on our list of priorities. You would do well in ministering to your family if you engage them in the service of the Lord.

Some people say, "Well, we're having family night." But what are you doing on family night? If you're watching Friday night TV on ABC, I guarantee you that has less of an eternal effect on your children. It won't help them in any way compared to bringing your children to serve the Lord alongside you. The witness that this will be to your family is invaluable.

This doesn't mean that you can't have times of entertainment with your family; most certainly, you can. However, we must recognize that our lives are to be balanced. In 1 John 2:15, John says, "Love not the world, neither the things of the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." He continues, "For all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. It is not of the Father, but it is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lusts or desires thereof."

Notice this: "He that does the will of God abides forever." The things of this world are passing away, but he who does the will and work of God abides forever. The form, the scheme, the fashion of this world is fading very quickly. Are we invested in those things that have eternal value, or are we grasping at the wind in this temporal world that's fading away?

Yes, we ought to be those who are happy. We should enjoy marriage, cherish our families, and love our wives and children. However, we must not let the surroundings of this life and its trappings become all-inclusive. Marriage, sorrow, rejoicing, possessions, and pleasure all have their proper place in the Christian life, but these things can become sinful when they dominate our behavior and thoughts. Therefore, Paul's exhortation is to not overvalue earthly things but to keep them in perspective.

Have the proper perspective. The fashion of this world is passing away. While our flesh likes to grab onto all these temporal things because our flesh itself is temporal, we must be different. There is a battle between the flesh and the spirit: the flesh wants to hold onto all these things and never let them go, while the spirit recognizes that the best thing we can do is let go of that and grab onto the Lord. We should seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. This is completely antithetical to our culture and to the mindset we have even within the church.

God's Word is revolutionary; it is living and powerful. It cuts deep. I would say that the world needs to see this witness in the church. Why? Jesus said in John chapter 10, "I have come to give you life and that more abundantly." We have wrongly thought that the abundant life means joy, rejoicing, and pleasures. However, I would suggest that oftentimes those are illusions set before us by the adversary, the thief who has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy. The world needs to see a witness of what it means to live the abundant life.

I would suggest that it involves following what the Scriptures say in this passage: having a light grip on the things of this world. This is so different from our culture, isn't it? No other culture at this time, or at any other, is trying so hard to hold onto it all. We have people who will cryogenically freeze themselves so that when we one day find the cure for death, they can come back and still have it all. Really? It's fleeting, and it's all going to burn. Only that which is done for Christ will truly last. Amen.

Let's stand and pray. Father, I ask that as we prepare to leave today, You would, by Your Spirit, cause this word that has been sown to be planted deep in our hearts, not to be easily taken away by the enemy, the cares of this world, or the hardness of our hearts.

Of our hearts, Father, we ask that we would receive from You Your word, even though it is challenging to our way of thinking and the way we live. But, Lord, we want to be those who shine as bright lights of what the abundant life is all about.

As we study Your word, we see that Your view of the abundant life is different from the American view. So, God, transform us by the renewing of our minds this week as we meditate upon these things. For we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.