A thought crossed my mind this morning. How comes living single is so hard? Is it designed to be that way. Was it a way for God to make life difficult for us as men (yes...both men and women) and at the same time get a chuckle out of it. I don't think that was the intention. How do I know this? Well, Jer. 29:11 says it all.
So then with that in mind, why is it so hard. Why would God, who has great plans for us, let us go through such adversity and still expect us to enjoy the process.
Probably the answer to tho this lies somewhere else. Somewhere we ain't looking. Shift your focus away from God and place it where it truly needs to be. On us. both ourselves as individuals and the people around us. You see, God has given us all we need in life, so that when He says we should enjoy every situation and praise Him in it, He knows we are able to do it because He didn't leave us in lack. Paul had a very good grasp of this concept when he said, "I know what it is to be
in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret
of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or
hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Christ who gives me strength" (Phil. 4:12-13).
Now, for arguments sake let's say being in lack is being single and having plenty is having that someone (and trust me it is plenty...of everything). Whichever situation you find yourself in, the strength of Christ in you is sufficient to help you be content in that situation. So now having absolved God from any blame thereof (not that El Gibbor ever needed a lawyer), let's look at the real issue. Man.
God looked at man and saw that it wasn't good for him to be alone. So He mad him a helper. There was a purpose. God saw a need and He sought to fill it. Over the years, man has evolved. And I don't mean the Darwinian kind of evolution. I'm talking about Psycho-social evolution, What was relevant a few centuries ago isn't anymore. This shows a great deviation from what God originally intended. He meant for a woman to be a helper to a man and together they would create an intimacy that completes both of them. Over the year that has changed. A wife has morphed from a helper to property to a baby carrier and most recently a status symbol. A married man is highly esteemed for all the wrong reasons. Now I'm not saying that a man should not be esteemed for having a wife but it should be as an acknowledgement of the blessing that the wife brings.
This "negative" aspects of marriage cause society to put pressure on those who aren't in relationship. They feel like they are missing out on something that they absolutely MUST have. The picture of marriage painted by couple doesn't do much to help. It's a rosy picture that was once described to me as "sun, sand and sex" when the reality on the ground is "thunderstorms, weeds on the beach and obligation".
I feel like I should stop there for today. I think I've said enough. On the next post I will give you my views on what around us other than ourselves makes it hard to stay single and content.
