The appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.
1 Cor 7:29-31
This is a matter that shouldn’t be neglected in composing a rule for life. Since we’re alive, we should make use of this life’s necessary supports. We shouldn’t avoid those things which seem to serve our pleasure more than our necessity. Instead, we should hold to some rule so that we can use the things of this world—whether they serve necessity or delight—with a pure conscience.
The Lord prescribes this rule in His Word when He says that this present life is a kind of pilgrimage for His people, wherein they eagerly travel toward the heavenly kingdom. If they are merely passing through this land, then without doubt they should make use of its goods only insofar as they aid rather than hinder their journey. Thus, it’s with good reason that Paul urges us to make use of this world just as if we were not using it, and, similarly, to buy possessions as though we were selling them.
John Calvin. A Little Book on the Christian Life.
