Marriage Is Not the Be-All and End-All

Today, my officemates made fun of me again for not having a boyfriend.
Sometimes it hurts that it makes the workplace no longer conducive for work.
The taunting goes to the point that they say there is something wrong with me.
Amazing how the secular world thinks everything in life is about having a partner.

I have tried living with a partner, much like marrying one.
I do know that it is a commitment that is fulfilling, even when it can sometimes get old.
I cannot say that I am losing out on experiencing the best part of life.
Simply because I cannot lose something I never had.

It may not compare with marriage or having your own family...
But the love I experience with family and friends is as real as it gets.
My love for my family can run as deep as the many years I sacrifice to help them.
In the same way, I would take a bullet for any of my friends.

I know how married life, much like single life, is not a bed of roses.
I have seen marriages crumble, couples live miserably, and children suffer.
So I have a high regard for married people who stick to their partners.
I even sometimes wonder whether I would make a good wife.

Marriages, though a blessing, are not even made for heaven (Mt 22).
God does not want us to lose our focus with the family ties that bind us.
If, at all, partnerships should lead us closer to God, and further God's cause.
Indeed, there is much to discover in scriptures about the kingdom of heaven.

Though unaccountable towards a partner, single people are accountable to Someone.
Singleness makes a person available for God's use or disposal.
This does not make married life experiences trivial, but singleness makes life easier.
That is the Christian definition of singleness, and yes, it is also a decision.

Just because you have a partner does not mean you are quite something.
It only means you made a decision, and now you have to stand by it.
It also means you have a lot more priorities: God and your partner (and your kids).
But it certainly doesn't make you, a married person, any better than a single person.