Holy Power
Do you know anyone who lives in hope of changing the person they married?
To the rest I say-I and not the Lord-that if any believer has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. And if any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. - 1 Corinthians 7:12-14
In today's reading, Paul is giving marital advice. Some he says is from the Lord, like staying married and not divorcing. While other advice is from him, like this about the unbeliever the believer married.
It sounds to me like he is acknowledging the well known fact, that one cannot expect one's spouse to change.
Now I want to be clear. There is nothing I want to change in my spouse and I think she has given up on waiting for me to change, so we're good. But I am not sure I totally agree with Paul here.
He claims that the unbeliever is made holy by the relationship with the believer, which is a nice way of saying that all unbelievers are unholy.
Do you agree with that?
The problem I see is that it seems to give us permission to act superior to others. If you are not a believer, you are not holy like I am.
Ah, but I have the power to make you holy. Just come live with me?
No wonder so many "Holy" men and women wind up in trouble. Many are attracted to powerful people, and there is great power in being holy.
So, Paul may have started something that could easily get out of hand, but I don't think he offered this advice to create trouble. The last line tells it all.
He is looking to change the thinking about children born of couples where only one is a believer. The children are holy and not damned.
That I can accept. But then, I would like to think all children are holy, and all are holy children of God.
But that is another topic.
More to come...