Forgetting the Single...

As single Christians we are called to serve. It's a good thing. But who serves us? Not many. When we are sad about our singleness and feeling our loneliness deep down in the recesses of our souls, we are pretty much told to suck it up, trust in the Lord, and be happy in our singleness. I've always felt that approach is way insensitive and doesn't serve or minister to us at all. (Apparently these people have completely forgotten what life was like when they were all alone.)

Well, as usual, I was reading Boundless and came across this post, which lead to a comment stream on trying to be content in your singleness.

This portion of a comment was so good and SO TRUE... I had to share it:

19. kaj said the following at 8:47 PM on Sep 15:

[...]

I challenge the married and dating people (and other singles as well) out in Boundless-Land: What are you doing to facilitate contentedness in your single friends?

Have you invited them to your home so they can enjoy a home-cooked meal, with a generous side order of fellowship, thus rescuing them from another mundane drive-through fast-food dinner?

I was hungry and you fed Me.

Have you invited them to grab some coffee (or whatever beverage suits you,) and find out about their life, such as their job or their hobbies?

I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink.

Have you reached out to the newbie loitering in the church lobby, or maybe see someone sitting alone in a restaurant and said, "Hi, we are [names]; come join us?"

I was a stranger and you took Me in.

How about inviting an apartment-dwelling single to a day of free laundry at your house, where they won't have to worry about an evil "quarter-munching monster" and have time to talk between the dark loads and the permanent press cycles?

I was naked and you clothed Me.

Maybe they just need a shoulder to cry on, with no overworn clichés about being single (or what it would take to no longer be single). Perhaps you know a single person who is just brokenhearted and just needs to know someone who cares. Maybe (as appropriate), just a hug would do.

I was sick and you visited Me.

Or, perhaps, there's some single person who doesn't know where to go to enjoy fellowship and community, but you know where a bunch of your friends are hanging out, such as your neighbor's annual backyard cookout. The single person now has an excuse to "get out of the house."

I was in prison and you came to Me.

Maybe some singles exude an air of desperation or "discontentedness" because there are legitimate needs that haven't been met yet.

There has to be some things people of the Body of Christ can do to alleviate the struggles singles face: loneliness (some, for many reasons, don't even have a dog or a cat to come home to, Ashley in comment #7), physical needs (moving furniture, simple car repairs or résumé proofreading, perhaps?), or other things a couple (courting/dating, engaged, or married) might take for granted.

Then, perhaps, those "desperate-looking" singles won't appear so "desperate" anymore, because they have people who cared for them both in word and deed.

The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me.