Being Content in Singleness

Ah, to be content. When you think about it, it doesn't matter what problems or deficiencies there are in your life if you're content. No food? Not a problem if you're content (and not hungry). No money? No sweat- you didn't feel the desire to buy anything anyways. The list can go on, but contentment with our current situation is a very good thing.

***Below is one of my usual notes of caution...so, caution!***

Contentment is a good thing, as stated above, but we shouldn't be content with mediocrity. If we have sin in our lives, we ought to seek to erase it by the power of the Holy Spirit within us. Saying that we're content to keep sinning is like saying that the knife in our heart doesn't bother us much - it's ridiculous! So, again, the pursuit of holiness (as in the book by John Piper) shouldn't be something we decide to be content in.

***End of note of caution***

What about relationships, though? Can you honestly say that you're content being single, or that you were content being single? Not many people can. Society and culture surround us with romance novels, movies, celebrity romance- romance is everywhere! Since our culture DOES have an effect on us, whether we want it to or not, we tend to each be romantic. Now, this is expressed in different ways for different people; i.e., most guys don't draw hearts and cupids in diaries. The point is, it's not easy to be happily single amidst our culture.

Contentment in our singleness stems from three things; trust in God's plan, seizing the opportunity to grow in Christ, and a realization that once our singleness ends, it ain't coming back.

Trusting in God's plan is something seen throughout the Bible. Jeremiah 29:11 gives it to us straight from God: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." What a promise! A future and a hope is something I can't promise myself, but God can promise AND deliver! What a relief to know that the God of the Universe has our best interest at his heart! David says in Psalm 56:3, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." When you're afraid of never-ending singleness, or of a broken heart, place your trust in God alone, and the dividends will never cease.

Seizing the opportunity to grow in Christ is something many people miss while in a state of singleness- I know I did. Paul, in I Corinthians 7, tells us that, " I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided... I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord." (v. 32-34a, 35) While we are single, we have the chance to be undivided in our devotion to the Lord - something we won't have once we are married. Paul goes on later to say that to marry is good, but to stay single is better. That's another debate, but it's easy to see the freedom that comes with singleness.

Also in the seventh chapter of First Corinthians, Paul speaks of divorce, and how it should be avoided. A verse that you'll hear at almost every Christian wedding is, "What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."(Mathew 19:6b) Unless the most extreme circumstances occur, we are to stay married for LIFE. Not until we "don't love him/her anymore" but until "death do us part". Once you're not single (aka MARRIED), you'll not be single again, God willing. Appreciate your singleness while you've got it.

Be content in your singleness! Trust in God's plan, use this time without distractions to seek God and prepare for his calling for you, and enjoy it!

-The GentleDoofus