Singleness Not A Disease!
- By Sam George
- Published 12/7/2006
Sam George
Sam George is the Executive Director of PARIVAR International - a non-profit initiative to address the needs of youth and families of Asian Indian origin in North America and to the Asian Indian community worldwide. Parivar means family in many Indian languages. Sam George also serves as one of the founding directors of Urban India Ministries
www.UrbanIndia.org Sam George and his wife, Mary have spoken at premarital and family events in many countries. They are parents of two boys and make their home in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Sam is the author of the book “Understanding the Coconut Generation: Ministry to the Americanized Asian Indians." Check out this website www.CoconutGeneration.com Coconut (brown on the outside, white on the inside) is a metaphor for the Americanized Asian Indians. Sam George can be reached at sam@coconutgeneration.com
Recently I was talking with a marriageable single lady and heard her view of the how rest of the community views them. She confided that people think that there is something wrong with her. If you are not married within a certain age or stage in life, it brings lots of shame to their parents.
Parents are constantly bombarded from their peers, “why isn’t your son/daughter settled down yet?” They are often shunned as people treated like lepers of the past!
In the Indian arranged marriage system, it was parent’s responsibility to find a spouse for their children. But how things worked in the past, need not work anymore. The needs of the children have changed, not to mention their views and expectations of marriage.
In many cases they do not want marriage like their parents.. One even told me that “my parents are simply co-habitating! If that is marrige, I do not want to get married!”
In God’s eyes, singleness is a season of life like any other no better and no worse. If you are single, be thankful for the time and ability you have to walk uninterrupted with Christ (1 Corinthians 7:33-34). Can you like Paul say, I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. (Philippians 4:11)
Listen to an encouraging message from David Jeremiah on overcoming loneliness.
I have always encouraged singles to wait and get married to the right person. I see many rushing, unable to cope with the communal pressure and settle for marriages in order to get their parents off their backs. Many also end up breaking it off in few years later and find themselves to be single again!
The rest of the community and church need to be more sensitive to the need of this growing population amidst us and try a better job in caring for them. Or else we will never see them again!
