What does 1 Corinthians 7:34 mean?

Paul has written that unmarried Christian men have one advantage over their married brothers in Christ. They can focus their lives fully on pleasing the Lord, which is the main objective of the Christian life. Married men must focus both on pleasing the Lord and pleasing their wives.

Paul now turns to women with the same idea. Unmarried or engaged—"betrothed"—women can fully focus their time and energy on serving the Lord, as well. Paul adds that they have the undivided opportunity to grow in their understanding of how to be holy in both body and spirit. Obviously, this does not mean a married woman is not holy in her body or spirit. Her sexual union with her husband does not mean that she is less holy in some way. All Christians, married or single, can lead holy lives (2 Corinthians 7:1). Unmarried women, however, are not divided between this pursuit and that of pleasing their husbands.

Again, Paul is not condemning marriage or married women. They are not lesser Christians. Marriage is a high calling for both men and women. But by definition, Christian marriage is a life spent in self-sacrificing service to another human being (Ephesians 5:22–33). Paul is not lowering the value of married life; he is elevating the value of the single life as an opportunity to serve Christ without division or distraction. Every Christian woman should seriously consider this opportunity and not marry simply to follow custom or fulfill other people's expectations.