The Plea of an Unrighteous Man

There has been a topic that has presented itself in my life numerous times as of late, almost on a daily basis. It is the controversial topic of marriage, courtship, girls and love.   It seems the society in which I live has an obsession with marriage and courtship. In fact, if you are not currently seeking a spouse with all diligence you are doing something wrong because that is the single most important attribute of your current life. I feel there are erroneous beliefs being perpetuated from that statement.  True happiness comes only through marriage and singleness is a disease that needs healing being among the erroneous beliefs.  True happiness comes from within oneself, not from a spouse.  If we hearken back to our days of Elementary Algebra and remember  basic equations like:
                                                         x + 2 = 3       or       y + 5 = 15
 from these equations we learn a great truth. Equations are easier to solve when there is only one variable. Now if we move on to Intermediate Algebra we solve equations like this:
                                             6x + y = 24               or              3x + 2y = 30
                                              x + 2y = 18                                 x + 5y = 20
Equations with more than one unknown are more difficult to solve. When is it ever a good idea to add in another variable to one's life when you are having trouble solving your own equation with one variable?
Jesus, who is my example in all things, was single for at least the first thirty years of his life, and then it is still under debate if he ever was married. I am confident He lived a happy and fulfilled life despite his questionable marital status.  Marriage should not be the indicator of living a happy, fulfilled and successful life. If that were true then Susan B. Anthony, Mother Teresa, Henry David Thoreau and Joan of Arc would have lived unhappy, unfulfilled and unsuccessful lives.  Circumstances should not indicate happiness.

It may appear that I have a personal vendetta against marriage, courtship, girls and love.  I do not. I have experienced the sweet fruits of all but one of those on more than one occasion. It was wonderful. I loved knowing that there was one person that you could always run to when life was scary, one person whom you rushed home to share your happy news with, one person that filled you with so much love it made the angels jealous, one person who inspired you to be more than you realized you could be, one person whom you trusted absolutely or one person who knew exactly what to do to calm and comfort you even when you didn't want to be.  This is love. Love is of God. The Bible teaches, "God is Love." (1 John 4:8).  Let's go back to math class one more time. Remember the day when your teacher told you this equation:

 A = B = C   so   A = C

If you were like me you had no idea this could be used outside of the world of numbers, but it certainly can. For example, if we were to take God and make him 'A', then take one if His attributes and label it 'B' it would have to equal 'C' or love. God = Perfection = Love, God = Truth = Love, God = Justice = Love, God = Mercy = Love, God = Glory = Love, etc.  This love cannot be rushed, it cannot be forced, it cannot be contrived. It is organic. Trying to force love to grow is like trying to make a bean sprout before its appointed time. It will blossom when it is ready and it will be beautiful. It might be awhile, but it will happen when it is supposed to.

Consider this the plea of an unrighteous man who knows that one day he will find love in its purest and most beautiful form, but until that day please don't try and convince me that I am a lesser person because I am not actively seeking marriage.