The Glory of the Unmarried Christian

My pastor recently preached a sermon titled Jailhouse Praise. Taking us through the book of acts, he retold the story of when Paul and Silas were thrown into prison. After being flogged, beaten, tied up and put in jail, they began to praise God with song. They offered God a jailhouse praise.

Being an unmarried Christian has a flogging of its own. I must admit this is one struggle I didn’t expect to be this difficult. From the need to love and be loved all the way to the sexual temptation and everything in between, celibacy offers up quite a challenge to the Christian. However, also to my surprise, I have discovered that being an unmarried Christian offers up a unique opportunity and privilege. Please bear with me as I explain what I mean. If you are an unmarried Christian, I trust that this message will not disappoint. I hope that it will be as empowering in your life as it has been in mine.

Before discussing the blessings of being an unmarried Christian let me quickly discuss the difficulties. I think there are three things that make Christian celibacy such a struggle. If you are an unmarried Christian, I am sure you will be able to relate to most if not all of these points. The first difficulty is the simple fact that there are so many counterfeit ways to step out from underneath the pressures of being 'alone' – the emotional, sexual and social pressures - and make them go away. From dating-just-for-fun to pornography, society providers us with plenty of means to escape the flogging; to escape the unwelcomed feelings and temptations that come with being celibate. Yet God asks us to stay put! He commands us not to indulge in those counterfeits but instead to take the hit. In Romans 12:1, Christians are asked to be “living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God”. One of the differences between a living sacrifice and a dead sacrifice is that a living sacrifice can step off the altar, but as ridiculous as it sounds, it must not. A Christian, therefore, must freely choose to remain on the altar and accept the suffering that God has brought his or her way. This is a very difficult thing to do under any circumstance and these next two points don’t make it any easier.

The second facet that makes Christian celibacy so difficult is that it appears to have no glory or purpose. Frankly to me it seems like a stupid problem to have. Why can’t we just get over it and focus on something else? Or why doesn’t God just provide someone to meet our needs? In the end, what is gained by all the struggle? These are questions that, if we are honest with ourselves, are difficult to answer. Let me give a contrasting example. Being flogged for Christ, for instance, is full of glory. It definitely seems worth the pain. Through it, the whole world would know and understand what Christ means to you and his name would be glorified- clearly, visibly and undeniably. It would seem good to suffer for that. But what good is there in lying by your bedside, feeling crummy or lonely and wondering when it will be over?

Finally, Christian celibacy is a difficult struggle because it is a secret struggle. It is a struggle inside your head and around your emotions. Nobody can see the struggle or the extent to which you are struggling. People don’t tap you on the back and say “way to go handling all that loneliness”. It is a struggle that seems to belong to you alone. And just as an aside, because it is a secret struggle, people cannot always see when you give in to the temptation. Because of that lack of accountability, the potential of giving in is increased.

I think by now that the breadth of this struggle is pretty clear. As an unmarried Christian you must chose to secretly struggle for a cause that seems to have no purpose. You have no where to go. You find yourself between a rock and a hard place. To find relief you must step off the altar and step away from your God. To find your God you must step up onto the altar and also find your struggle. So what do you do?

Offer God jailhouse praise. That would be the Bible's answer. Actually, it would be more like bedside praise. When you are alone in you room sitting by your bed, when no one else is looking but God and you feel the struggle pouring on, praise him. Praise Him. As counter-intuitive as it might feel at the time, as unnatural as it might be, as completely illogical as it might seem to you, praise him anyways. It is your privilege and opportunity to do so at that time.

I think this can best be explained by looking at the situation through God’s perspective. God is looking at you and asking “Despite the fact that there are so many counterfeit ways to make the struggle go away, does she trust me enough to obey me anyways – and even more than that, praise me?” “Despite the fact she does not understand why this is happening or what’s the point of it all, does she trust me enough to obey me anyways – and even more than that, praise me?” “Despite the fact that she is all alone in her room and nobody one else is looking, does she trust me enough to obey me anyways – and even more than that, praise me”. This is your chance to say “Yes Lord yes”.

I think i have shown that this challenge is a little bit different than other struggles. In most cases the counterfeit option isn’t a viable choice. It’s not that easy to give up. Generally when we struggle for something we know why and we know were we are headed. We see a purpose to the struggle. Rarely is so much of a struggle waged in secret with no one looking. Christian celibacy puts all these things together. But God knows that; and He is watching and He is helping and He is loving. Will you praise him in those times? Now is your chance. One day it will be over. Will you offer God a bedside praise?

Let me conclude with this biblical precedence. After Pentecost, Peter and the apostles start lighting it up in Jerusalem. If you read acts 5 you will find that it is quite a remarkable story. The Bible tells us that "...people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed" This of course does not please the religious leaders and after a quick stint in prison, Peter and the apostles get flogged and released. The very next verse, Acts 5:41 says "The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name". They left rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering for Christ. Will you not do the same? Will I not do the same? Praise Him and rejoice, because God has counted you worthy of suffering for the Name.