Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”

• 1 Corinthians 7:1

I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife—and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

• 1 Corinthians 7:32-35

The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

• Matthew 19:10-12

The New Boilerplate

My wife filled a small book with “Angel” on the cover.  It was hidden with a box of crafting things.  On 18 July 2025, I thought I had posted the last of these.  But this little angel book held a prayer, followed by 71 quotes.  So, the “with a little help” series is back in business for a while.  And it will be fun for me.  She did not attribute any of the quotes.  The first quote was from James A. Garfield, the 20^th president of the USA.  The next one was disputed, with some thinking it originated with Teddy Roosevelt and others saying Fred Astaire.  After the prayer, these might be on the lighter side.

Her quote

“Most men who are not married by the age of thirty-five are either homosexual or really smart.”

• Becky Robenbeck

The Discussion

First, I went to the sight that said this quote of attributed to Becky Rodenbeck.  The sight that was about quotations did not exist, yet the search engine could find it.

Then, I tried to look up Becky Robenbeck.  There was a x.com account that might have been the right person, but nothing else.  The x.com account showing one post (out of a total of nine) that wondered why she had no followers.

I am sure that someone made the quote.  But then, maybe not.  Could AI create a false identity and then make the quote?  And then cancel themselves?

But the joke would not work today in that the secular world contends that same sex marriage is a real thing.  That is one of those cases when the secular government has overstepped in religious territory.  Like one pastor that I admire said.  This issue is not a choice thing or a government thing, it’s a God thing.

So, the quote is bound to offend someone.

But if you think it through, there are a lot of other reasons that some man never marries.  He might have the personality of a toad, and there are no unattached lily pads in the pond.  He could be so arrogant that every woman is turned off by what he thinks is “charm.”  He could be a priest in a Roman Catholic church.  He could make a vow of celibacy as the Scriptures suggest.

I could go on, but I thought of someone specific who broke the mold on not staying single forever.  My wife’s older brother.  He was about to turn seventy years old when he got married for the first time.  He always had a woman on his arm, although I only saw evidence of two of them before he got married.  His passion was traveling around the world.  After they married, they retired to have more time to travel, but then they realized that all the travelling, the one thing they had in common, cost money.  So, she went to work as a teacher again, and as far as I know, he is driving a school bus.  Is there a limit on age for such things?

He had two problems: wanderlust and a fear of commitment.  You can have either or both without being very smart.  I did not say that my brother-in-law is not very smart…

As a single guy, I could have made good money, played a lot of golf, and done a lot of travelling.  Then again, after doing some travelling, staying at home for long stretches of time seems adventurous.

But if I had stayed single, I would not have learned the give and take of married life.  And I would not have a grandson in college.

Whether the man is very smart or unlucky at love, there are more options than the “humorist” mentioned.  And some of those reasons are to follow the path that God has set for them.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory