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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 Corinthians 7:29 - 7:31
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No earthly ties should hinder the service of God:
v. 29. But this I say, brethren, the time is short; it remaineth that both they that have wives be as though they had none;
v. 30. and they that weep as though they wept not; and they that rejoice as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy as though they possessed not;
v. 31. and they that use this world as not abusing it; for the fashion of this world passeth away.
No matter under what conditions a, person lives and works, his first duty is toward the Lord, to whom the whole life of a Christian must be consecrated. There is a strong reason for reminding the Corinthians of this: This, however, I assert, brethren, the time has been fixed short. The great day of the Lord, for whose coming the believers were anxiously waiting, 1Th_5:2, was very near, and therefore it must be our constant aim and effort to be ready for its coming, Luk_12:35-36; Mar_13:35-36. As a consequence, all the things of this life must occupy a secondary position with reference to the matters of the kingdom of God: So that henceforth indeed those that have wives be as if they had none, the weepers as if not engaged in weeping, those that are joyful as if not engaged in rejoicing, the buyers as if they had nothing, those that make use of the world as not abusing it, not being engrossed in its business to the exclusion of their spiritual interests. "Home with its joys and griefs, business, the use of the world, must be carried on as under notice to quit, by men prepared to cast loose from the shores of time. " All these matters which engage the attention of a person in this world, and are put into the hands of man by the Lord, should not become the end and aim of existence. Husband and wife may share the joys and sorrows of family life, but in good days as well as in evil their heart's desire must be directed to the glory that is awaiting them above. People engaged in business, occupied in a station which deals exclusively with matters of this world, must not let their hearts be wrapped up in the gain and in the enjoyment of the world, but always keep their eyes directed to the greatest gift and blessing, that of the final consummation of salvation in heaven. As one commentator has it, we have here "the picture of spiritual detachment in the various situations in life. " And that is as it should be: For passing away is the form, the present appearance, of this world. The things which engage the attention of people in this world are not enduring, but transitory; marryings and marketings, feasts and funerals, pass before our eyes in endless, ever-changing procession; there is nothing abiding, nothing of lasting value in all that this world may offer. See Php_3:20; Col_3:1; Heb_13:14.