The gift of singleness

There’s nothing wrong with being single. Sometimes when we see a beautiful woman or a handsome man who’s not married we think, “I wonder what’s wrong with them?” Nothing! Indeed, something might be wrong with them if they were married, because it’s better to be single than to marry the wrong person. The story is told of two friends. One noticed the other one wearing a wedding ring on the index finger of his right hand. So he said, “That’s strange. Is that your wedding ring?” His friend replied, “Yes.” The first one said, “Why are you wearing it on the wrong finger of the wrong hand?” His friend responded, “Because I married the wrong woman.” We smile, but the Bible teaches that the single life is not only a good life, it is a gifted life. Paul wrote, “I wish everyone could get along without marrying, just as I do. But we are not all the same. God gives some the gift of [marriage], and others he gives the gift of being able to stay happily unmarried.” This doesn’t mean being single makes you more spiritual than if you were married. But the fact is, some people have been chosen and graced by the Lord to be single. Paul was one of them. He wrote, “I say to the unmarried and to the widows: it is good for them if they remain even as I am” (v. 8 NKJV). Paul spent all but seven years of his ministry in prison, where he wrote the epistles. His God-given assignment in life was suited to singleness. The point is, no person should ever be ashamed or embarrassed because he or she is single.