Passing away

Warning: This morning, I have way more questions about things than answers. There are probably some smart guys out there who've figured it out, but these posts are my initial reflections: No research, no getting someone else to explain it to me, just me and scripture the way most folks read their devotions.

I read 1 Cor 7:25-31, a passage where Paul says (v26), "I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is." If you're single, don't marry, if married, stay that way. He goes on to say that the appointed time is coming, so we should live as though we had no earthly entanglements. No marriage, no mourning or rejoicing, no buying, no dealings with the world, he says, "For the present form of this world is passing away."

How would you do what Paul is advising? You sure wouldn't want to do it for very long. Any man who has a wife but acts like he doesn't is going to get a visit from the elders. Anyone who just stops dealing with the world is going to go broke and starve. Those are actions you take when the end is in sight, when there really isn't a long term out there. These verses are reminiscent of some of the Old Testament Minor Prophets who foretold the Babylonian captivity.

Since Paul wrote these words centuries ago, and we're still marrying and rejoicing and buying and dealing, I wonder what he meant. What was the "present distress?" What present form of the world was passing away? Unless Paul was just wrong about things or about the timing, something was going on that would now be ancient history. 

Maybe if we knew, we could somehow develop a template from these verses for handling tribulation. More likely, if knowing was important to understanding the point, there would be a lot more detail. Since scripture is sufficient by itself, the lesson is all there.

One thing seems certain: When things of cosmic significance are happening, all that earthly stuff won't help us. Everything that we think gives our lives meaning, like relationships and wealth and those milestone events that make us rejoice or mourn, will be meaningless at some point.

So it behooves us to spend some time on the things that will have value in the end. Maybe even to spend as much time investing for eternity as we do making today and tomorrow comfortable.