A while back, me and a group of friends gathered together to study a book called True Friendship by Vaughan Roberts. In his second chapter, Roberts discusses what he called the "idolatry of eros". The idolatry of eros is very common in today's oversexualised culture. There are several pressures to be in some form of romantic relationship. Furthermore, it is assumed that if two people are close, they must be romantically involved. There are even some people who read the Bible with these kinds of presumptions, and in doing so, have made David and Jonathan's relationship into some form of gay partnership, which of course it certainly wasn't.
One of the principle objections to the Bible's definition of marriage is that by asking gay people to remain celibate, we are condemning them to a life of loneliness. Why would God want a person to endure such a lack of romantic partnership for their whole life? And yet, clearly, romance is far from the only type of relationship. Marriage is certainly unique, but to claim that celibacy is some form of deprivation is unBiblical to say the least.
Declining moral standards make this fact even less obvious. We are constantly bombarded by this idea that sex is very important, a basic need even. Behaviours once accepted as immoral gradually became simply taboo, then became something to be tolerated, and now today it is something to be celebrated. You're considered a bigot if you don't believe in gay "marriage". You're considered a Nazi if you don't think we should fully support the desires of transgender individuals (even if it's a simple child who, in all likelihood, will grow out of any desire to be the opposite gender). One night stands are common, and it's just seen as the done thing for a romantic couple to have sex. Even the natural consequence of a heterosexual copulation, pregnancy, is seen as something one has every right to erase, almost as if the mother never has the choice to just not have sex. The very fact that I am calling all of this "declining moral standards" will offend several people.
Even as many of these things were rightly considered evil in the past, so also are many things that are currently considered abhorrent gaining ground. Practices like incest, polygamy, adultery, and even paedophilia, while still frowned upon, are gaining enough ground that it is reasonably foreseeable that they could eventually be seen as just a natural expression of human sexuality.
But Paul says romance ought not be the focus. Though there are theories that Paul may have had a wife at one point, we know for a fact that when he became a Christian, he had no wife, and was committed to remaining single for the sake of the Gospel. Not only did he make that commitment, but he also advised others to do the same. To the unmarried and the widows, he said it is better for them to remain even as he did.
As a committed Christian, especially as one who constantly warned of the dangers of sexual immorality, we know that Paul wouldn't have substituted marriage for something else. No prostitutes, no flings, no one night stands, no orgies, no porn, no gay lover. To Paul, being single meant just that: No romantic involvement. And he described that as good. Paul didn't see remaining celibate as being deprived. He saw it as an opportunity. With no wife, Paul could devote his attentions elsewhere. He could worship the Lord when a wife would otherwise require his attention. He could build stronger friendships with the other Apostles. He could travel without inconveniencing a wife. He could financially support ministry, or charity, or keep some for emergencies. And of course, when his time finally came to be martyred, he left behind no grieving widow or orphaned children. In Paul's eyes, there were many benefits to remaining single.
That being said, the idolatry of eros does cut the other way, too. Just as celibacy carries benefits to those who can accept it, marriage carries benefits to those who cannot. Sex, as God designed it, is supposed to be enjoyed only between a married man and his wife. This goes beyond just the physical acts. Jesus said that to merely look at a woman with lust is adultery (Matthew 5:28). For that reason, Paul gives one more piece of advice: If you cannot control yourselves, get married.
Sex is not a need. You can go your entire life a virgin and will suffer no ill effects. Only one relationship ever need involve sex, and failure to enter such a relationship will lose you nothing. Extra-marital relationships need not involve sex to be complete. Romantic love is not the only kind of love. Although marriage is certainly a good thing, a gift from God, it is essential that we not pursue it above God. Our primary relationship must be with God. Mother, brother, father, sister, husband, wife, son, daughter, friend, colleague, none of these relationships will ever be more important than our relationship with God.