BY Mogama
It is a common thing for us to assume that a single person is missing something or missing someone. We tend to want to help the single person become complete by playing matchmaker, trying to hook them up. At other times, we pray profusely for this or that single person to find that right person. We pray for these two singles to find one another, because in our minds they would make such a nice couple. Sometimes we are just too busy running our own little eHarmony dot com, sizing singles up in order to match them up.
On the contrary, the Scriptures tend to praise singles. One way the Bible uplifts singlehood for God's people is the sheer inclusion of so many prominent Bible characters who were single for life or widowed without remarriage. Among these godly singles are Elijah, Daniel, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Jesus, Paul and Barnabas, as well as widows like Naomi in the Book of Ruth, and Anna, the saintly woman who was 84 years of age when the Baby Jesus was dedicated in the Temple (Luke 2:36-38).
Besides parading prominent single characters, the Bible reveals some important truths about being single and godly. Let me share four of those:
1. Yahweh (God) is the Lover of the single ( Hosea 2:19-20 ). The single person can relate to God as his/her dependable Lover. God's love for the single person is always unconditional, unlike the love one may get from a typical human lover. How many singles have abandoned singlehood for marriage only to find love with all kinds of strings attached and to be disillusioned by the marital experience? If God intended for you to be single, then He alone can fill your deepest need for unconditional love. Don't reach for a substitute in another human being. Don't let your married friends fool you; marriage is often not the Paradise or panacea you think it is. Don't get me wrong; marriage can be a great life, but it has its own batch of troubles that may shock singles.
2. Celibacy is a spiritual gift. God has given some people the ability to remain single. Celibates are spiritually empowered to keep the sex drive muted or tuned down to the point where they do not strongly feel the need to gratify their sexual desire. Jesus Christ, the most famous single person ever, had the gift of celibacy, and He made it clear there were others with that spiritual gift ( Matthew 19:12 ). The Apostle Paul said he had the gift of celibacy as well ( 1 Corinthians 7:7-8 ).
Christ made it clear that a person, out of devotion to the Kingdom of God, can choose to be celibate (Matthew 19:12). In that case, such a devotee is likely to ask God for the power of celibacy, and God will grant that ability. The New Testament teaches that it is perfectly fine to desire a particular spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 12:31).
It should be strongly noted that celibacy cannot be manufactured, short of castration or some other physical operation on the sex organ. For example, religion has tried to require celibacy of priests, but priests who do not have the spiritual gift of celibacy will find other ways to meet their sexual needs, unless those sexually potent priests were castrated. Once the flame of sexual passion starts burning within the hearts of those clergymen, they may masturbate, have sex with females and father children under cover, or they may sexually molest underage children.
Those who lack the gift of celibacy, or who have not been surgically neutered, will find ways to express and fulfill themselves sexually, thus making a mockery of celibacy, and bringing shame on the name of the Savior and of His Church. It would serve the cause of the Church more nobly if singleness were an option rather than a requirement for the priesthood, so as to minimize the sex crimes committed by clergymen who lack the spiritual gift of celibacy.
3. The Bible recommends singleness. This may seem or sound strange in light of the Bible's strong support for marriage. But it's true, the Bible actually encourages a Christian to remain single, if that person has the gift of celibacy. Such a person need not force the issue of marriage just to avoid the stereotype of being single (1 Corinthians 7:1-2,8-9).
4. There is such a thing as The Single Advantage. The Bible teaches that the Christian single can have a singular devotion to Jesus Christ. The Christian single has an advantage over the married Christian when it comes to total focus on the things of God. This single focus on the Lord may result in greater happiness for the Christian single as compared to the married Christian who is often distracted by marital obligation and issues.
The Apostle Paul claimed to have enjoyed this advantage in his own ministry. He wrote, In all you do, I want you to be free from worry. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord's work and thinking how to please him. But a married man can't do that so well; he has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. His interests are divided. It is the same with a girl who marries. She faces the same problem. A girl who is not married is anxious to please the Lord in all she is and does. But a married woman must consider other things such as housekeeping and the likes and dislikes of her husband. I am saying this to help you, not to try to keep you from marrying. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few other things as possible to distract your attention from him... in my opinion she will be happier if she doesn't marry again... ( 1 Corinthians 7:32-35,40 , LVB).
It helps to understand that Paul's strong preference for the single life was due in part to the prevailing persecution, which Paul called "the present distress", being leveled against Christians at that time (1 Corinthians 7:26). Also, Paul recommended singleness due to his strong belief, at the time he wrote his first letter to the Corinthian Church, that Jesus Christ would return in his lifetime and the world would shortly come to an end. Thus he even advised married Christians to behave as if they were not married. Paul wrote, But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none ( 1 Corinthians 7:29 , NKJV).
Without the constraints of persecution and a sense of the imminent end of the world, which Paul felt at that time, it is safe to say that the biblical basis for a Christian choosing the single life should be on the basis of celibacy, which is a spiritual gift, and because one wants to serve Jesus Christ with undivided attention. Related Articles :
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