Is Singleness The New Epidemic?
Louella Jamerson
Is singleness really an epidemic? Sure the number of singles has dramatically increased, especially within the last five years. There are more online dating and match making sites than you can shake a stick at. Yet, the numbers continue to rise. With more than 11 million single adults in the country it seems it would not be difficult to find a suitable mate.
There are some adults who have been single for years and are wondering what the problem is. Many have tried physical makeovers, relocation, dating services and power dating in hopes of finding the person they want. I have seen people who wanted a great relationship struggle in an effort to make what they had work. Still others who went to sad and painful measures to get a relationship that still did not produce what they desired.
How strange that with millions of individuals searching for a mate, it appears to become increasingly more difficult to find one. According to statistics single parents and single adults are the fastest growing household segments in America.
Some singles have given up on the quest for God's treasure for their life. With the sharp and dramatic increases in the country's single population comes an increased sense of hopelessness and discouragement. Is singleness the new epidemic? If so, is there a remedy? Does God have a panacea? Is there a source of hope for His precious singles?
God has an incredible treasure chest full of wonderful, godly men and women just waiting to be discovered. If you are reading this, perhaps you are one of them today. If so, I challenge you to stick with me each blog, you just may find yourself more equipped to discover God's treasure for your life.
If you are willing to open your mind, your heart and your eyes to see, what may have been right in front of you all along, I guarantee you will be blessed, challenged and informed.
You have to know that God does want you to have a loving, happy lifelong relationship. This blog, as well as my book, isn't so much about relationships as it is about the choices and ingredients that will assist you in finding and appreciating an Undiscovered Treasure for your life. The church world and society are littered with lonely and alone people who desire to be married. Singleness is and should be viewed as an extremely important segment of a persons overall life. Apparently Paul thought it important enough to instruct that a kingdom single should care for or conduct his/her life on a level that pleases God, in all areas of life.
We are made complete in Christ and we are whole in Him. God did not design a marriage relationship to be made up of two halves to make one whole. His purpose is for two individuals who are whole, complete, single and happy in Him to come together and continue their whole and happy life together in Him. Your happiness doesn't and won't come from marriage. Marriage was not designed for that purpose. God did not make Eve for a "Happy Vessel" He created her to be a helpmate. God has made provision for us to be secure and happy and it is not based upon your being married, or not married.
Marriage was not meant to bring happiness. Happiness is a free gift from God for you; it isn't attached to anything or anybody, except Jesus. Our Father never meant for us to run after, strive for and work ourselves to a frazzle in a never ending quest to find happiness in people, places or things. The desire of the Father is for us, His children, to discover, as Adam did in the garden that you can really, truly be happy in and with God with or without things.
Marriage should be a continuation of God's fulfillment and completeness that is already present in your own life before you join it with another person's. In other words, if you are living in wholeness and divine obedience to God, fulfilling His assignment for your life, you need someone who can fall in line and walk in sync with what you are about in God. That can only happen when you select an individual who is doing and experiencing the same in their life. Until and unless you have found and are walking in a position of wholeness, happiness and completeness in Christ, you are not eligible for marriage. Consequently, the goal of this article is to coax you into a position of self-assessment and self-realization. Don't you want to be an enhancement to another person's life and walk with God? Don't you want the same in return?
The epidemic that is singleness could be virtually wiped out in the Body of Christ if the spirit of "culture lock" can ever be broken. It seems we want all of the right things, in terms of character and personality, in a potential mate; yet we advertise with most of the emphasis on the person's color. If you happened upon a man or woman with all the qualities that you desire, why would his or her color have to be a determining factor?
With all of my heart I believe God wants us to have loving and incredible relationships. I also believe the components that produce a wonderful relationship have nothing to do with skin color. There is a whole world of wonderful, godly people that do not care anything about skin color and would make fabulous companions. In addition, they would make great moms and dads and would love and cherish their spouses.
Life&your life is about choices. Open your life to the myriad of wonderful singles out there to find or be found by. Every person who is seeking a mate is looking to find a wonderful treasure for their life. If you've been searching for a long time and have not found that gem in the soil of your cultural environment why not try treasure hunting in a multicultural environment that is abundantly rich with a myriad of precious gems? As one of my relatives would say "What you think?
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