Paul seemed to mature in how he viewed it by Ephesians and Timothy.
The Corinth church was full of fornication, (1 Cor 5:1), even sick step-mother stuff that go beyond even the sensibilities of the average pagan at that time. Church members liked visiting the hot temple prostitutes (1 Cor 6:15). Why would Paul even mention such a thing if people in the church weren't doing "the unthinkable"? You had instructions within that church to stay away from certain corrupting influences within that same church 1 Cor 5:11. You even had people having buffets and banquets other people who were poor and starving, at a time they were supposed to have communion and that caused deep rifts within that church. (1 Cor 11:17-22). Really read vs 20-22 a few times and let it sink in. Really let that sink in. That is unthinkable even in this modern society.
To be frank, I broke up with a girlfriend back in 2012 that I was totally into and we had agreed to marry each other, except for this one verse in that same book (1 Cor 7:10-11). She left her husband, who had divorced her, and if she's a believer, she is instructed to either reconcile with him or remain unmarried. This nuclear-bombed that relationship because that meant there was no future for us and I have not been able to replace her in over 10 years.
You might say that 1 Cor 7 is one of the more dreaded chapters in the Bible when it comes to how I've run my life in relationship with women. Either breaking up with a girlfriend I felt compatible with, or rushing into a marriage because the dating relationship was getting too sexual too fast and ultimately ended up divorcing within a few months, degrading a marriage into a glorified short-term relationship that anyone could have had.
Going back to what you are saying, I think the behavior of that church shocked Paul so perhaps he toned down his message with them a notch to accommodate their shocking lack of maturity. It's not a matter of Paul being more mature, but his audience was more mature in the other epistles.
Jamdoc said:
But yeah, Marriage is not just supposed to be a legal release for the sex drive.
For practical purposes that's moot in 2022 not the 50s, so I don't think people marry just to have sex these days anyway. From ready and easy access internet inappropriate content, people using dating apps, or hook-up culture, it's never been a time where the association of marriage and sex has been this drowned out.
But one of the benefits is that when people do marry, they are not doing so just for sex, but for other reasons. That is not the issue in today's society. It would be more likely the rampant sin. You also can't advise guys to get married anymore because you have a legal system that will side with the wife and end up having a guy pay spousal and child support while his ex-wife goes with other guys, using his money, while he is left high and dry by himself. You didn't have such a toxic anti-male legal system at the Biblical times.
Remember, if there is a fight, women are so entitled these days, she can just go online, meet someone else rather than work out a marriage problem, because too many desperate lonely men want her. Because of no-fault divorce, she could leave him for someone else, and he has to foot the bill for everything and lose custody of the children. Now granted there are good women out there, but the stakes are just too high if you end up with the wrong woman.
The girlfriend in question I mentioned before I met her on Christiancafe and her ex-husband was a pastor of a church who was grieving that she left him and was praying she would repent and turn back. They got in a fight, went to their pastor for counselling, and she ends up putting a profile on the Christiancafe site and how do you think we met each other? This is a Christian marriage where the husband was a pastor. This ex-husband pastor did not date or meet any other woman since she left. This was my soulmate that I thought I was blessed and lucky to meet her from that site.
Jamdoc said:
It's far far far beyond that, it pictures Christ and the Church, but is also God's means of providing complementary companionship, procreation, and organizing people into family units which are one of the foundations in which how God wants people to live. It also provides a most immediate, visible, tangible person to focus affections on rather than just focusing on self. Yes you're supposed to focus on Christ first, but being invisible, intangible, and largely only known about from the pages of a book, it can be pretty hard to focus all affections on Christ rather than on self, especially when this invisible, intangible being doesn't speak audibly to you, and can't give you a hug when you need one. Having a wife, having children, you now have immediate people you can see and touch that are more important to you than yourself.
Agreed.
Jamdoc said:
Being single?
all you can do is try to put all affections into invisible and intangible Christ
and I guess a more generalized valuing all people over yourself.
I certainly struggle with both, and it results in devaluing myself to a point where I see myself as trash and wish I didn't exist sometimes.
You can create idols of people by valuing people over yourself. As long as you are not taking advantage of someone, or hurting someone for your benefit, then you are not valuing yourself over people in a way there would be a problem.
If you waste yourself on one person then you've crippled yourself from helping nine out of ten other people, and then what about the other nine you were supposed to help? What makes that one more important than nine other people? That principle in itself should teach you that you have to conserve your energies so you can have the maximum impact. Not everybody deserves your help.