1 CORINTHIANS 7:25-40

The thing that is often missed in this passage is the unique way in which singleness is presented on par with marriage in terms of being a fulfilling life of ministry. Whereas the married man will always struggle to bring his family into ministry, the single man feels no such gravity. I had the benefit of being an elder before I was married and I can tell you that the two are tacitly different experiences. This became especially true once my marriage produced children. My marriage also seeks to distract me from serving God. I always have to tame it toward God’s purposes. It is an enormous blessing but I always run the risk of being reliant upon its benefits rather than God. There is a large amount of self-control involved in the biblical management of relationships. This, more than any other reason, is why I believe there is an edict against polygamy for elders in scripture. I can barely manage to have one wife and all that entails.