It is important for us to be reminded sometimes that the things of this world are temporal. When we suffer as Christians, these things are temporal. When we’re excited and things are all going well, that is temporal. That’s not to say that we cannot have joy in our hearts with the Lord. We can. But we cannot expect things to always go exactly the way we want them to. In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul is addressing a church in Corinth that is undergoing distress at the hands of Nero; he reminds them that these things will all eventually come to an end.
1 Corinthians 7:29-31 “But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; 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; And they that use this world, as not abusing it : for the fashion of this world passeth away.”
Jesus Christ gave us instruction of relying too much on the things of this world. He said the following in Matthew 6:
Matthew 6:20 “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:”
We should have a big picture view of this life. We need to serve the Lord, not because of things we receive here, but because it pleases God. It might be difficult at times, but it pleases God and the payoff is for eternity. Anything we experience in this life is not there for eternity, no matter how large the problem may seem. Now, we will give account of ourselves to God in the next life based on how we’ve lived in this one, and whether we’ve accepted His Son Jesus Christ or not. But the things we own, the contracts we enter in to, the things we believe and say, and even our marriages are all here but a short time compared to eternity.
It’s easy to become wrapped up in the cares of this world or to become overwhelmed by them. We should go to God in prayer and allow Him to guide us through these times. Let’s let our focus be on things eternal rather than the temporal things of this world.
To learn more about 1 Corinthians 7, follow this link.
