It is so easy to elevate one spiritual gift, or Christian grace, above another. When referring to the spiritual gifts, a prophet would be in error to say that prophecy was a more important gift than serving. Similarly, a believer with the gift of giving has no reason to look down on another believer with a different spiritual gift, for example, exhortation. Every spiritual gift is essential and equal, as pointed out in I Corinthians 12.

In his epistle to the Corinthian believers, the Apostle Paul used the memorable analogy of the human body to emphasize the equality of gifts. “For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him” (I Corinthians 12:14–18).

What is true of spiritual gifts can also be applied to the important discussion of marriage. Married people sometimes view their married state as “better” than singleness. Moreover, those who are unmarried can sometimes view their own condition as “more spiritual” than that of a married couple! These attitudes of self-exaltation ignore the truth that God has given each man or woman the appropriate “gift” in respect to marriage and singleness.

Paul referred to marriage as a “gift” in I Corinthians 7:7, “For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.” The apostle acknowledged that he naturally viewed his own unmarried condition to be the preferred state, but he fully realized that this was not God’s will for all of His children. To some, God has given the gift of singleness. To others, He has given the gift of marriage. Let’s take a closer look at each of these special gifts from God.

The gift of singleness

Some men and women are given the special grace to live their entire lives unmarried. In I Corinthians 7:34, Paul wrote that “the unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit.” Widows such as Anna lived after their marriage in a state of singleness so that they could be devoted entirely to the Lord.

Some Godly men of Scripture also exemplified this gift of singleness. There is evidence that Elijah lived without a wife or children. Daniel evidently was made a eunuch upon his captivity by the Babylonians. John the Baptist lived a rugged life in the wilderness that precluded having a home and family. And the Apostle Paul seems also to have lived unmarried, at least for a portion of his life.

Our Lord Jesus spoke of eunuchs who live in the state of singleness “for the kingdom of heaven’s sake.” He concluded this teaching, saying, “He that is able to receive it, let him receive it” (Matthew 19:12). There is a special gift and grace necessary to live in singleness.

The gift of marriage

Other Christians are given special grace for marriage. “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD” (Proverbs 18:22). Abraham and Sarah, Boaz and Ruth, Zacharias and Elisabeth, Joseph and Mary, and Aquila and Priscilla serve as splendid Biblical examples of married couples whose love and service for their Lord was not hindered but enhanced by their marriage. God used marriage to strengthen and elevate the character of these servants and to enable them to serve Him more fully.

Let each one of us, as God’s children, be very careful not to look down on our brothers and sisters just because they have received a different gift. We would be wise to acknowledge with Paul that “every man hath his proper gift of God” (I Corinthians 7:7).