THE PURPOSE OF SINGLENESS

1. As we all know, God does nothing without a purpose (end result) in mind Eccl. 3:1

To be single means to be whole, unique, separate, have something to offer and complete ALL BY YOURSELF!

So singleness is only a PHASE.

The truth is this: Every phase has a duration, plus its glory and it's beauty. Every phase!

In Phil. 4: 11&12 Paul says "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."

You need to embrace this perspective of being happy and content in your state of singleness while working towards the next phase which is married life.

Though marriage is good and God-ordained, don't let your desire for it become an obsession and an all- consuming preoccupation to the extent that you will do ANYTHING just in order to get married!

Singleness is only a phase.

Enjoy it while it lasts because it has its own benefits and blessings that will impact upon your married life tomorrow.

So, the number one purpose of singleness is TO PLEASE AND SERVE GOD.

Single days are serving days!

Serving God gives Him pleasure (Rev. 4:11) and when He is pleased with you, you will have His best!

Service is a good training ground for being a good Christian (it helps you to be selfless, humbles you, breaks you etc).

And guess what? ALL YOU NEED TO BE A GOOD SPOUSE IS ALL YOU NEED TO BE A GOOD CHRISTIAN!

Everybody is attracted to a person who possesses a servant’s attitude 1 Sam 25.

So approach marriage with the attitude of looking for whom to serve and bless.

Think contribution!!!

Also look out for someone who possesses the same mentality; "I AM LOADED; I AM ANOINTED; WHOM CAN I SERVE?"

So if I have a servant's heart and I want to serve you AND you also have a servant's heart and you want to serve me, then we are on our way to a great marriage relationship!.

                    

2. STRENGTH-GATHERING. Eccl.12:1

The days of your youth/singleness are days of maximum strength and unfettered exploits!

Many outstanding Bible characters did exploits for God in their youthful and single days e.g. Joseph, David, Mary, Shadrach and friends, Daniel etc

See friends, married life is hard work and involves a lot of GIVING.

So before you get there, this is the best time to build a reservoir of strength.

- *Spiritually*develop stamina and staying power by drawing closer to God in your daily walk with Him. Study the word of God, pray a lot, fast on your own, and devour materials that will nourish your spirit.

- Mentally read and ingest materials that help you build capacity and be knowledgeable in relevant fields.

Don't spend most of your free time watching, reading and doing things that will not add value to you.

Broaden your horizon of knowledge so you can be an asset tomorrow.

- Emotionally grow up and mature in the way you react to and handle issues that come your way especially negative issues. Learn to be more patient and tolerant of others and their views.

You will need this virtue in marriage!

Work on your people skills!

Physically strengthen yourself by acquiring skills for housekeeping, record keeping, financial management and budgeting etc.

Learn how to cook, keep house etc…

On and on the list goes.

Stay fit and healthy physically too by eating healthy and avoiding junk food, poor eating and sleeping patterns, seating and walking postures etc.

3. TIME OF PREPARATION FOR MARRIED LIFE.

Let me lay it straight for you friends:

Marriage is no place to experiment about it!

Nothing in life ever becomes greater than the preparation that precedes it. 2 Chr. 27:6

No doubt you have very high expectations for your marriage tomorrow. But in order to realize that dream you must match your expectations with corresponding preparation, if not you are heading for trouble.

Many singles who are in search of Marriage partners do not even understand what marriage is, what their functions are or even how to relate with a husband/wife after the wedding!

Are you preparing for the answer to your prayer?

Have you built the capacity to be able to accommodate the answer to your prayer?

This is the time to get ready for the great life that you envision.

Learn about the peculiarities of the opposite sex that are TOTALLY different from yours.

Learn and understand your own temperament and then learn about the other temperament combinations: their strengths and weaknesses and how to relate with a spouse who possesses those kinds of temperaments.

Learn about how to relate with inlaws.

Learn how to handle and resolve conflicts and differences that will SURELY arise.

READ.

ASK QUESTIONS.

STUDY.

MAKE ENQUIRIES.

DON'T ASSUME THAT YOU KNOW.

Arm yourself with requisite information that will help you make the most of married life in peace, despite the challenges that may arise on the journey.

Don't get married as a clueless, ignorant person!

No matter how much you love each other, marriage will not work out automatically!

Much more importantly too, prepare by consciously cultivating GODLY CHARACTER which is what makes marriage work!

Now is the time to cultivate godly virtues like discipline, honesty, humility, patience, kindness, hard work, selflessness, meekness etc.

No matter how beautiful, handsome or 'sexy' you are, without godly character in place your marriage will be miserable and will not last.

This is the time to begin to prepare for that journey of a lifetime.

And make sure that you get married to someone who has also done a handsome share of preparing as well. Oh, if only half the preparation that goes into the traditional/church wedding/reception/honeymoon/photoshoots/shopping/make-up sessions 💍🍴🍽🍸🍷🍾🎹🎉🎊🎀🎈🎈💅🏻👄....went into preparing for the REAL thing ( the life after) marriages would be happier today.

Think of it: there's no vocation or trade or profession that you want to enter into that does not place a demand of years of tutelage and apprenticeship on you! Years of learning the ropes as well as intricacies of the trade.

That is how life works.

Great day friends!✋🏼