1 Timothy 4:3-5
3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
There are some who believe the clergy and those in spiritual authority should not marry. In fact, they make it their doctrine. They use the verse where Paul says those who remain unmarried care for the things of the Lord, while those who are married care for things that are of the world, how they may please their wife (1 Corinthians 7:32-33). Paul says this because he sees from his own lens, where he is unmarried and is able to put the gospel first in all things. Earlier in 1 Corinthians, Paul says he wishes all men were unmarried like him (1 Corinthians 7:7). I’m sure even Paul knows how ludicrous a statement that is if taken literally. If it were, there would be no children! Another thing we see in 1 Corinthians 7 is that Paul goes back and forth between writing what he says the Lord commands and what he believes is right and profitable. Verses 32-33 come in a section which carries Paul’s thoughts and not necessarily the Lords.
God instituted marriage for several reasons. First, man needed a helpmate. He needed someone alongside to help him through life. A wise pastor I once had told me God gave a wife to man so that she could help him see his faults. It took me years to discover this truth. My wife is very good at seeing when pride is rising up within me and she is quick to point it out. Until I learned that she was there to help me in this area, I ignored her. In fact I argued with her that I was not prideful at all (one of the surest signs that I was!). Jealousy, anger, sorrow, fear – all of these can be seen by a woman much easier than a man will see them, or acknowledge them. She is my helper to make me into the man God wants me to be.
God gave a woman to man so that he would not be alone. Man needed companionship and God knew that. After all, He created man. If God gave woman to man, why would He ever say they should not marry and be together? God did not see a problem with man getting married. He did not think this would take man’s mind off of His creator. If God had thought that., He would have come up with a different plan! After all, God still came to the garden to fellowship with man after the fall, and woman was with him then.
Marriage was also instituted so mankind would continue. This is an obvious one. Without the two, none of us would be here. God told man to leave his father and mother can cleave to his wife, and they would be one flesh. They become one in spirit and soul when they are married, and all kinds of hurt and trouble come about when divorce comes up, which was only agreed upon by God because man’s heart was hard (Matthew 19:8). God intends us to stay together. Marriage was given by God and is a blessing to Him. Any who say man should abstain from marriage should go back and study this out. They are not following God’s true calling for man. I agree that some are called to chastity. If that is their calling then they should by all means fulfill it. But I do not believe the scripture condones dictating chastity.
Abstaining from meat has become very popular in our culture today. Many will tell you that meat is dangerous to your health and you should eliminate it altogether, replacing it with other proteins like nuts and beans. Others warn against eating too much meat or that we should only eat lean meat. Their reasons vary, from the fact that it will increase green house gases to the possibility there will not be enough to go around in 30 years. Whatever the reason, science has turned to a platform of little or no meat as the dietary norm. Too bad God disagrees.
The truth is that God said “It was good” from the moment He made it. He said all the animals, plants, insects, fish, birds and anything else on this earth was good for mankind to use as he sees fit. We have dominion over all of it. Should we treat animals with respect? Of course, but not to the point that we forbid to eat them. Should we be humane? Certainly. People who do not treat animals with respect or proper care should face consequences.
But when we start to put the animals before the humans, we turn God’s word upside down. When we start to think that we know better than God, we become fools in His eyes. The problem is that the world has fallen into the devilish doctrine of evolution. This doctrine says that we should praise the creature more than the creator, or His creation. Evolution says that man is no more important than a spotted owl or a lowly lizard. God says we are made a little lower than the angels. Evolution discounts God’s hand in anything. Evolution says the word of God is wrong and man is right. What a foolish thought that is!
Everything God has put on this earth was put here for the express purpose of providing for mankind. Why do you think the water came before the plants? So the plants could be provided for! Then the sun and moon came so the plants could grow and reproduce. Then the animals were created, and they were sustained by the plants. Finally mankind came and they were sustained by it all. All of this was created by His Word for the profitability of the only creatures He molded with His hands, Adam and Eve. Nothing else in all of creation was made by God’s hands except Adam and Eve. Mankind must be very special indeed!
The last note Paul makes about this is the importance of blessing our food. He says it must be received with thanksgiving, and that it is sanctified by prayer. This cannot be stressed enough. We should raise our voices and our hearts to our wonderful creator for giving us all these blessings. We should not neglect blessing our food and asking it to bring nourishment to our bodies. We should always be grateful for what the Lord has provided from the beginning of time. He is Jehovah Jireh, our provider and His grace is sufficient for me!
God's Maintenance Man 