THE SINGLE ISSUE

Al Hsu This is the one of the two most commonly available books on the issue of Singleness. The aim of this book is twofold, first to help people understand the meaning of “the gift of singleness” and second to advocate Singleness as a way of life.

Initially the book focuses on the situation of Singleness, within society (both secular and Christian), and from there follows onto ‘a brief history of singleness’ looking as to where today’s attitudes have come from, first looking at the Old testament, then the New Testament, and the impact of the Reformation.

From there Hsu forms his theology of Singleness, looking at 1 Corinthians chapter 7. In this he aims to refute common held “myths” of singleness/celibacy. He argues Singleness IS a gift, BUT NOT a spiritual gift (as many argue). This is a pivotal point to the issue of Christian singleness that people need to think through. IF singleness is a spiritual gift then if you can’t cope with the single life/God has not equipped you for living as a single person then you should get married. IF however as Hsu argues Singleness is a general gift given by God, like marriage, then it does not mean we should expect to be supernaturally enabled as we live the single life, yet still must view singleness as a God given gift. Don’t get me wrong God always looks after his sons and daughters, and God will help us in our lives whether single or married, my point is neither will be easy!

Hsu moves to look at the Issue of God’s will in relation to singleness and Marriage, he has two points. First the bible never says we will get married, he is blunt, possibly too harsh, but it is a point that needs to be made. Second, there is no “perfect partner” and no to view God as the matchmaker. He insists God has not planned out a person for everyone, his aim being to get people to live their life in the moment for God not gazing wistfully into the future for something that may or may not happen. Again I agree with the conclusion of this, that God calls us to live our lives now as he has put us, so if we are currently single we should be living lives to please him and for him as single Christians, and not to place our lives (and ministries) on “hold” waiting for marriage. I do have issues with his view on sovereignty, in my opinion yes God has it all planned and we can (and should) trust him in all things, including our marital situation, if God chooses to change that fine, if not then that is also fine. Yet we mere humans cannot understand God’s overall control of the universe, we can trust in what we know (God is good, God gives us good gifts etc) and what we do not know (whether or not we will get married) we can lay at his feet and live out what God has revealed to us at the present moment in our lives (Deut 29:29).

The rest of the book is more related to Christian living, tackling the “big” issues single Christians face. Chapter 6 deals with freedom and opportunity. Hsu deals with issues like, service, personal growth, ministry and mission, the freedom not to marry. A challenging chapter that makes you see past the discouragement you face and helps you see the areas of blessing you take for granted and shows you the real rewards and freedom of singleness.

Chapter 7, by far my favourite chapter, deals with “from loneliness to solitude”. Loneliness is one of the biggest issues singles face, Hsu shows that there is a difference from being alone to being lonely (ones a situation, the other is an emotion). ‘fellowship with God is the solution to loneliness. Companionship with fellow Christians is the cure for aloneness.’ Hsu looks at how to make the most of those quiet times in your life, filling your time with God, and the importance of devolving community with church and fellow believers. Very worth while reading to challenge you.

The rest of the book is further challenges to Romance, and the pitfalls and dangers of Christian single living (self-centredness, putting you life on hold, finance). These sections highlight where single Christians often struggle and provides encouragement to simply re-think why these areas are hard and what you can actively do to change and enjoy life more.

This book does I think have some of the best teaching on Christian singleness out on bookshelves. HOWEVER, it is by no means perfect. I sense a lot of bitterness in the book at times, he does like to point out where either the media promotes false values of “happily ever after”, or blaming married couples for singles problems (yes married couples in churches can unintentionally cause problems but blame is NOT a good way to deal with that). His chapter on community is slightly odd, he promotes singles groups (also known as Kairos or SAM), I think his logic here is very flawed: single people within the church feel isolated from the church community, therefore they need to be included, therefore the church should run single peoples groups..... yeah like that’s going to help the singles in the church feel included within the church community! I haven’t made my mind up on the whole concept of “singles groups” within churches yet keep you posted. Often also I feel the application is not the most logical or advisable, again with any book, look at the principal and see if you agree with the application. Lastly, the book is not the most sympathetic read Hsu does tend to lay the standard and expects people to come up to his level, I feel more could be done to relate to the readers to help them think through the issue of living as a Single Christian.
Overall, yes a good book, I would recommend reading it alongside another book. His main aim to promote singleness as an active lifestyle for God is important and something that all people need to read and live out. He deals with and combats myths within the church that so easily pass unchallenged and will give fresh insight into what the “gift of singleness” actually is.