It was until the Christian church was born that singleness had any value. In the Jewish culture everyone was expected to be married and have a family but then along came Christianity and as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7 it is an honourable state to remain single. Single people can have singleness of mind in serving the Lord. They don't have to be concerned about a wife or a husband or children.
However, what about a family? Jesus reminded His followers that all His followers were His family. We have often looked upon family as our future and we put our hope in our family but we need to realise that our hope is not in our family but our family is a sign of our hope. Our hope is in Christ.
Paul reminds us that whether we are married or single our first devotion is to the Lord. For many people, and especially I believe for men, being married is important in helping them avoid the temptations of our culture just as it was in Paul's day. Paul was not against marriage but he was calling all people to place their loyalty above all else in Christ.
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