[7:25] Now, concerning what you wrote about unmarried people: I do not have a command from the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is worthy of trust.
[7:26] Considering the present distress, I think it is better for a man to stay as he is.
[7:27] Do you have a wife? Then don't try to get rid of her. Are you unmarried? Then don't look for a wife.
[7:28] But if you do marry, you haven't committed a sin; and if an unmarried woman marries, she hasn't committed a sin. But I would rather spare you the everyday troubles that married people will have.
[7:29] What I mean, my friends, is this: there is not much time left, and from now on married people should live as though they were not married;
[7:30] those who weep, as though they were not sad; those who laugh, as though they were not happy; those who buy, as though they did not own what they bought;
[7:31] those who deal in material goods, as though they were not fully occupied with them. For this world, as it is now, will not last much longer.
[7:32] I would like you to be free from worry. An unmarried man concerns himself with the Lord's work, because he is trying to please the Lord.
[7:33] But a married man concerns himself with worldly matters, because he wants to please his wife;
[7:34] and so he is pulled in two directions. An unmarried woman or a virgin concerns herself with the Lord's work, because she wants to be dedicated both in body and spirit; but a married woman concerns herself with worldly matters, because she wants to please her husband.
[7:35] I am saying this because I want to help you. I am not trying to put restrictions on you. Instead, I want you to do what is right and proper, and to give yourselves completely to the Lord's service without any reservation.
[7:36] In the case of an engaged couple who have decided not to marry: if the man feels that he is not acting properly toward the young woman and if his passions are too strong and he feels that they ought to marry, then they should get married, as he wants to. There is no sin in this.
[7:37] But if a man, without being forced to do so, has firmly made up his mind not to marry, and if he has his will under complete control and has already decided in his own mind what to do—then he does well not to marry the young woman.
[7:38] So the man who marries does well, but the one who doesn't marry does even better.
[7:39] A married woman is not free as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, then she is free to be married to any man she wishes, but only if he is a Christian.
[7:40] She will be happier, however, if she stays as she is. That is my opinion, and I think that I too have God's Spirit.