Stay single or marry?

Some things would be hard to take from anyone but Paul. His routine calls for self-sacrifice are almost too much. 

In 1 Cor 6:6-16 Paul makes two points that to me at first didn't seem related. The first is that he thinks being single is better than being married; in fact he suggests that marriage is just for those who lack self-control. I kind of resent that, but it implies that sex has more of an earthly function than a spiritual one.

His second point is that, once married, we should stay that way. I'm not one who uses this passage to forbid divorce, because certainly his point about being single isn't a divine command. Paul is saying, though, that we should stick it out if we can.

That doesn't seem to make sense: if it's really better for me to be single, why should I stick with a poor marriage? That had me wondering until I remembered who's talking here.

Paul was all about serving God by spreading the gospel. He let nothing get in the way of that mission. So of course, his position on marriage is going to be based mostly on the best way to serve God, not the best way for me to be happy.

He seems to be saying that a single person can be more effective in serving because being married takes a lot of time, money and focus. Married folks get wrapped up in the day-to-day of pleasing each other and raising their families. 

Once married, though, the best way to serve God is to honor His rules about marriage. Being in such an intimate relationship gives us the chance to figure out and then model the best ways to serve one another.

Paul's position on marriage is the same as his position on everything else: It's not about you, it's about God. That's why he isn't very sympathetic to our normal issues with singleness or bad marriages. I guess if you think being homeless, beaten and jailed aren't too much, then being lonely or broke or nagged at or living with a drunk seem tolerable too. Paul would call those things just another day at the office.

I think if Paul were here to ask about our relationships, he'd say, "Depends on how it effects your ability to serve God." He would probably think spending resources on something as trivial as our own comfort or happiness is a waste of time.

Like I said, coming from anyone but Paul . . .