( 1 Corinthians 7:25-31 )
25 Now concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who [a]by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. 26 I think then that this is good in view of the [b]present distress, that it is good for a man [c]to remain as he is.27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have [d]trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. 29 But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; 30 and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; 31 and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away.
Could we say Apostle Paul's language/literature style in the aforementioned verses could be associated with literary devices of hyperbole, figure of speech? To elaborate, Apostle Paul is just saying that those seeking a spouse should Not idolize/worship attempts to get married, therefore, he resorts to using hyperbole/figure of speech.
27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife.
Furthermore, he is also saying that we as humans should Not idolize/worship other worldly aspects of life (i.e., our work careers, money, possession of material goods, fame, etc.) therefore, he resorts to using hyperbole/figure of speech.
29 But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; 30 and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; 31 and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away.
In other words, it's alright to seek a spouse to marry, and want and acquire worldly things but do Not idolize/worship said aspects of life. Is the aforementioned analysis correct?
Update: @nigel-j ( Reference: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/fancy-words-rhetoric ) (
(Excerpt from the above Merriam Website Webpage) "hyperbole
"I'm telling you, if I don't get this job, it will literally be the end of the world."
Definition: extravagant exaggeration
“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”
Hyperbole is probably the one literary and rhetorical device on this list that most people have heard of. It’s not just moderate exaggeration, but extreme exaggeration: being hungry enough to eat a horse, or so angry you will literally explode, or having to walk 40 miles uphill both ways to school every day. Hyperbole came into English in the 15th century from the Greek words hyper, meaning “over,” and ballein, meaning “to throw or cast.” When you use hyperbole, you are overshooting the target (not hyperbole).
Hyperbole can often look like simile or metaphor. Simile is when two things are compared using the words like or as, as in “cheeks as red as roses” or “hair like fire”; metaphor is when a word or phrase that literally means something else is used figurative in order to describe another thing, as in “drowning in debt.” Many people claim that hyperbole, simile, and metaphor can’t possibly overlap, but that’s not true. The difference is that hyperbole is always gross overstatement, whereas simile and metaphor aren’t always. “I hate broccoli with the white-hot hate of a thousand suns” is both hyperbole and metaphor; “You’re as big as a whale” is both hyperbole and simile (and rude)."
At the very least for the 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 bible verses, based on the aforementioned Merriam Website Webpage's explanation for hyperbole and simile, I can say the following are examples of hyperbole and simile:
( 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 ) 29 But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; 30 and
those who weep, as though they did not weep;
and
those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice;
and those who buy, as though they did not possess;
31 and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away.
Update Thanks to @jonathan for suggesting that it's better to use the "idolize" because it's more suitable for Christian biblical theology/ hermeneutics /exegesis topics.
