One lady, desperate for a husband, began corresponding with a man who was in prison. She eventually worked up the courage to ask him what crime he had committed. He responded honestly, “I killed my wife.” “Oh, good!” she exclaimed. “You’re single!”

Many people believe that they can’t find fulfillment in life unless they are married. Why wouldn’t they think that? People tell them to be patient; they’ll find somebody. They hear that “there is somebody out there for everyone.” It’s no wonder that so many people think that they can’t be happy living as a single person.

The Bible does paint a beautiful picture of marriage, but Scripture also teaches us that it is perfectly all right to remain single.

Paul spends quite a bit of time in 1 Corinthians 7 talking about the benefits of being unmarried, and he encourages this lifestyle. Jesus says in Matthew 19:12 that some people “… have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

Let’s not push marriage on people who are perfectly happy being single.