What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away. I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife—and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. 1 Corinthians 7:29-35
“St. Paul, dissuading his converts from marriage, says nothing about that side of the matter except to discourage prolonged abstinence from Venus (I Cor. VII, 5). What he fears is pre-occupation, the need of constantly “pleasing”—that is, considering—one’s partner, the multiple distractions of domesticity. It is marriage itself, not the marriage bed, that will be likely to hinder us from waiting uninterruptedly on God. And surely St. Paul is right? If I may trust my own experience, it is (within marriage as without) the practical and prudential cares of this world, and even the smallest and most prosaic of those cares, that are the great distraction. The gnat-like cloud of petty anxieties and decisions about the conduct of the next hour have interfered with my prayers more often than any passion or appetite whatever. The great, permanent temptation of marriage is not to sensuality but (quite bluntly) to avarice.”
C.S. Lewis in The Four Loves (New York: Harcourt, 1960) 124.
Yesterday Sammy and I enjoyed a great hunt together (pictured above). While on the drive back, we talked about Lewis and The Four Loves. While he’s head over heels in love, I urged him to keep God first. Or in the words of Lewis, to wait “uninterruptedly” on God. I shared that while marriage is a gift from God, it also comes with the danger of avarice.
Does you marriage distract from your generous service to God? Let’s think about this danger for a moment. Avarice is the desire for things. Practically, this comes into view as “wanting” a big house, nice cars, big vacations, etc. When we want these things, we shift from waiting “uninterruptedly” on God, to spending ourselves in an endless pursuit of these things.
Often it takes people years to realize that these are an empty quest. I am thankful to have a wife that aims to grow closer to God, not to accumulate things or experiences. She encourages my generous service. What a blessing! I pray that Sammy and Emily, as they wed tomorrow, will wait “uninterruptedly” on God. Make it so, Lord Jesus.