Why complain?

I see your point. I guess complaining about singles complaining about being single in a singles forum is better than singles complaining about being single in a singles...forum.

simonpeter said:

Shalom,

Most posts on singles forum are about people complaining about being single, not being loved, not finding the right person etc. etc. My question is: as Christians, are we not supposed to just 'get by' in this life and invest all our hopes only in the afterlife with our Lord? So why let such trivial things bother us?

Simon

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No, we're supposed to follow christ. That isn't just 'getting by'.

And marriage isn't trivial. (or missing out on it)

We were born to give love and need love.

simonpeter said:

Most posts on singles forum are about people complaining about being single, not being loved, not finding the right person etc. etc. My question is: as Christians, are we not supposed to just 'get by' in this life and invest all our hopes only in the afterlife with our Lord? So why let such trivial things bother us?

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If a tree falls down in the forest and no one is there to hear it, yes it does make a sound. A single knows this. If an ant bites a goat and digests that bit of goat, then dies and rots and is absorbed into a plant which grows a tomato which you then eat, then yes you are eating a dead goat. That is the long answer as to why singles complain. Metaphorically speaking they are the goat that is being eaten, because sometimes being single gets one's goat.

I agree
A lot of times I feel like I am surviving.

And I also feel.
God does not just want us to survive.
He wants us to live and have joy.

God did not just put us her to survive. He wants us to grow.
Love. Be loved.

That is my opinion.

I complain when I am hurting, even if I should not feel that way ... I am human.

edwardfsmith said:

I complain when I am hurting, even if I should not feel that way ... I am human.

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Absolutely, however some seem to live life as if they were Eeyore. He keeps his head down, and his voice low and not much of what comes out of him is ever positive. That gets a bit tiring after a while.

simonpeter said:

My question is: as Christians, are we not supposed to just 'get by' in this life and invest all our hopes only in the afterlife with our Lord?

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No. That sounds more like Gnosticism than Christianity.

People just want someone to love and want to be loved in this life. I know I do.....

We miss out on so much in life just by not being content with wherever we are at in life. Every moment spent complaining or feeling down about our circumstances is a moment we have lost forever and will never get back or be able to do anything good with.

And I say that knowing that I get down sometimes too. It's just, I don't want to look back at my life and see more moments wasted than not.

SimonPeter said:

I agree. My point is, as Christians, we know this is a fallen world where nothing - love, relationship etc. - is going to be perfect. So would it not be better to ignore it?

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Absolutely not. I am not criticizing you personally, but this question is impossible. People hurt, so they make noise. Making noise can help, and talking about it can help. Its also part of praying both historically and Biblically. If you are very upset then it is ok to talk about it. It is even therapeutic. Maybe it helps to talk about how sad you are, so then go right ahead. It won't help you make friends usually, but as long as you are upbeat part of the time then go ahead and let it out.

A time for singles to weep:
Judges 11:39-40 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, that the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

Rhetorically no:
I Samuel 1:8 And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?"

Plead for the widow:
Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

Don't Shush a single:
Luke 18:5-6 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

Praying like a single:
Psalm 39:12 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

WagginDog said:

If a tree falls down in the forest and no one is there to hear it, yes it does make a sound. A single knows this. If an ant bites a goat and digests that bit of goat, then dies and rots and is absorbed into a plant which grows a tomato which you then eat, then yes you are eating a dead goat. That is the long answer as to why singles complain. Metaphorically speaking they are the goat that is being eaten, because sometimes being single gets one's goat.

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Mind... broken...

I must devote the rest of my life to solitude on some forsaken mountain top to understand this post.

Mind... broken...

I must devote the rest of my life to solitude on some forsaken mountain top to understand this post.

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Oops.

People like to discuss singles issues on singles message boards. For all we know, the only time they feel like they can "complain" about this stuff is when they come here. It's a huge leap to assume that somebody who shares their singleness struggles is "just getting by" in life.

Instead of complaining about those who you think are complaining, why not start a thread about the joy that singleness brings you? A burden shared is half the burden, but a joy shared is twice the joy.

ImperatorWall said:

Mind... broken...

I must devote the rest of my life to solitude on some forsaken mountain top to understand this post.

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If you have ice cream, I will give it to you.
If you have no ice cream, I will take it away.
This is an ice cream koan.

[URL="http://www.christianforums.com/users/31227/ said:

Qyöt27[/URL]"]If you have ice cream, I will give it to you.
If you have no ice cream, I will take it away.
This is an ice cream koan

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Ow, I'm getting a brain freeze from that delicious ice cream koan.

simonpeter said:

Shalom,

Most posts on singles forum are about people complaining about being single, not being loved, not finding the right person etc. etc. My question is: as Christians, are we not supposed to just 'get by' in this life and invest all our hopes only in the afterlife with our Lord? So why let such trivial things bother us?

Simon

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Shalom, my Jewish brother.

I agree: complaining is bad and fruitless.

However, it is stupid to think you should have to live only for heaven and ignore your daily life here. Life is to be enjoyed NOW, not in some pie in the sky theology. Yes, heaven is real, but it is to be now, not just "someday"!

There's nothing wrong with wanting a spouse to love and cherish. Maybe for you, it's wrong, but for the rest of us, we want God to bring us someone wonderful to share our lives with! Nothing "trivial" about that.

Don't overspiritualize life and miss out on it. It's too short to squander.

I withdraw from this discussion.

simonpeter said:

Not complaining but wondering why Christians would obsess over these matters, considering our religion makes it clear that we shouldn't be worrying about temporal things.

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Who says it's "temporal?"

The East Orthodox church, which can be traced back to Jesus and His apostles, believes that any marriage in Christ is eternal, and thus, divorce is never a good idea since it attempts to break that which God joined together.