Living the Single Life
by Lisa McLoota (Feb. '01)
One of the biggest misconceptions in our society today is that to have a complete and/or happy life, you must be married after a certain age. Turn on the radio and it is full of sappy love songs about staying together forever. Even our sitcom television shows include married couples or young adults struggling with dating problems or looking for a potential husband or wife with whom to spend the rest of their life.
There are many stereotypes of people living a single life. People think they are less mature than a married person; the impression being that they are selfish and that they are only concerned with their own pleasures. I feel that young adults also feel pressure by ages 25-30 to find that one "right" person.
Jesus modeled the ideal of life not as a bachelor but as a person of faith in this world. Our goal is to live united with God. We can achieve this either married or single. In 1 Corinthians 7:32, it states, "But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord - how he may please the Lord. But he who is married cares about the things of the world - how he may please his wife. There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be whole both in body and spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world - how she may please her husband. And this I say to you for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction." This quote from the Bible is not discriminating against marriage, but showing us that if you choose to be single in the Lord's eyes, it is good that you would choose to devote your life to Him. In 1 Corinthians 7:8 it says "But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: it is good for them if they remain even as I am."
None of this is to say that we are alone in our quest for salvation. First, we gain eternal life as a gift from Christ. The help we get from one another in the community - "encourage and build one another up in the faith" likewise furthers us along in this journey. Lastly, we precisely pray for the dead, "May their Memory be Eternal" because our prayers for one another really matter.
We can learn from the Bible that to be single is not a bad thing; it doesn't mean that we are selfish or that we are not mature. Regardless of the world today, we should know in our hearts and souls what is good for us as individuals and understand that being single should not be an insecurity in our lives.
