If you don’t have much of a libido, there is a strong case for not getting married.  It is not that getting married is bad, but you can focus on serving God in ways that are quite special.  Jesus even said that there would be eunuchs for the kingdom of God.  I raised this at a prayer meeting once and got roasted by an elder (who was married).  I still hold to the basic principle. However, there are those that say that the Corinthians were in particular hardship, so to get married would have been an added stress.  Because of Jesus’ commentary on the same issue I don’t think that the context of time or place changes the point.  There are those who think more about having a good cup of tea and a slice of cake than about sex.  However, for most of us we have a desire for sex or at least its fruit (children).  For a healthy marriage there should be frequent sex.  It guards against the pull of pornography or affairs.  It actually releases chemicals that bind a couple together.  Men who get overinvolved in work or the potting shed (hobbies), should not be surprised when their desperate housewife runs off with the gardener.  Women who spend all their time on taking care of the home and children and have little appetite or imagination in the bedroom may wonder why their husband comes home later and later until he doesn’t come home at all.  Although life-long celebacy is a gift, the norm is that a man and woman will get married. Sex is a healthy part of that marriage.  Here we see that Paul counts sex as an important part.

1 Corinthians 7: 1-7

¹Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry.^{[a] 2}But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. ³The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. ⁵Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. ⁶I say this as a concession, not as a command. ⁷I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

Questions

1. What is a good reason for each man to have a wife?
2. Who does the husband’s body belong to?
3. What do people lack that Satan will use?
4. Why do you think Catholic priests do not marry?
5. What does a healthy sex life that keeps both parties interested look like?

Going Deeper

Observation

1. What is it good for a man not to do?
2. What descriptor is used to describe a man’s wife?
3. How many times does Paul state that the case is the same for each gender?
4. What kind of consent leads to abstention?
5. Who is the focus when fasting from sex?

Interpretation

1. How would Corinthian society have tempted men and women to have immoral sex lives?
2. How would it change a person’s perspective if they understand that they are joint owner of their own body?
3. What other passages in the Bible outline a healthy sex life?
4. Why do you think that some people in Corinthian society would think that it was holy to abstain from sex completely?
5. What does it seem Paul’s sex life is like at this time?

Application

1. Why do you think more and more women are viewing pornography?
2. How does a couple keep it fresh and frequent?
3. Why do couples stop having sex when they have children?  How is this to be avoided?
4. How do you overcome the reality that one partner is often more eager for sex than the other?
5. Why do some people ‘let themselves go’?  Why might staying physically fit and taking care of your appearance be a selfless act that helps your marriage?