Posted by C_Ruth on May 14, 2008 at 20:56:47:
In Reply to: Singles, Stress & Burnout posted by Fern on May 12, 2008 at 07:47:47:
Maybe this doesn't relate directly to stress and burnout, but your comments reminded me of the following paragraphs from a talk I shared with a group of single ladies a couple of years ago:
"Another aspect of a life that pleases God is what I am calling an unentangled life. That expression comes from 2 Timothy 2:4 'No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.'
"And it brings us back to one of the basic ideas in our theme verses from 1 Corinthians 7:31-34 'He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord,
how he may please the Lord; But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world,
how he may please his wife.
There is a difference also between a wife and a virgin.
The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord,
that she may be holy in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world,
how she may please her husband.' These verses say the unmarried may concentrate more completely on the Lord because we are free from the distractions and responsibilities of a family.
"I don't know your reaction to these verses.
But sometimes life can feel just the opposite to us.
If we work full time,
then need to go home and do the household tasks that our co-worker's wife has done while he was on the job,
plus other home chores that he may do in the evening,
it seems we must certainly be just as busy or busier than the married ones are! And it may be true to an extent,
if the married couple has no children.
But normally,
having a husband also means having children.
And then the time required for taking care of the practicalities of life as well as the teaching and training of the children does require a large portion of time and effort that the single can spend on other things.
And even without children,
the married woman is not as free to accept all the avenues of service a single one is.
"Regardless of how we feel about our time in relation to that of our married sisters, these verses are what the Bible says, and so we believe they are true. If we are not finding them true in our own experience, it is time for us to reexamine our priorities and see how we can better live them out."
I have been blessed different times with the thought I read somewhere that,
"God has given me enough time for everything He wants me to do." I think part of our problem is determining which things He really wants us doing,
and which ones we are wasting time and energy on when He has a different plan for us.