Singleness as a life option (Being Radical)

September 7, 2010 | Filed Under Small Talk 

Besides providing love and physical necessities, my main role as a parent is to teach my kids how the world works. The good and the bad. To show them their options, and offer them tricks for maneuvering through the madness.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately that I want my kids to get beyond the normal social narrative: the idea that value lies in what you do; what you accomplish.

You know the story… go to school, get a job, get married, have kids, accumulate wealth and then wait a long time for retirement and grandkids.

I think education is important. I will encourage my kids to get educated with a discerning mind. But I will also encourage them to meet and laugh with the poor. How much better off we’d all be if we met and laughed with the poor.

I think getting married is a good thing. But not the only good thing. There are many vocations in life that are important but which can not be done well while married (or with kids). Think: a life committed to being a Christian radical … a lover of the poor … Mother Theresa.

Some of the greatest people to have ever lived, lived lives of singleness. Jesus, in the Gospel of Matthew, basically says that if you can manage that lifestyle choice, it’s the most effective way to be a disciple.

I stand against the pressure to homogenize when it comes to life’s options. There is such a numbing pressure to go through the standard hoops on your way to the American Dream… and then what? You’ve got things. And loneliness. And emptiness.

I’d much rather my kids be lovers of people than lovers of things.

Related posts:

1. Not happy? Sometimes it’s worth making a radical change
2. Life’s Little Joys
3. Getting The “Cancers” Out Of Your Life
4. 2008 Was The Best Year Of My Life
5. basic math doesn’t work for every domain of life.

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