Is 'single' a helpful label?

I think it just gives a bit of background if you are clear and differentiate between the different types of status. No-one on here should be married, so, in that respect, everyone is single. However, I prefer to know a bit of the background and I would see single as never married, then divorced or widowed are self explanatory. Surely we are all single?

Yeah Chris, I agree with you. Being divorced myself I would normally say single but I've discovered that guys who have never been married before appreciate knowing the fact that I am divorced instead of saying that I'm single first. That's just my opinion

Agree with your comments Josephine.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: It is a momentary label, only!

I would say that initially I thought of it as a simple practical category that noted your marital status as unattached/available. However unfortunately in recent years I feel that the church has used it to treat us like a subspecies of people, who don't have the same physical/emotional/psychological needs as those fortunate enough to be married. That somehow it's ok for us to continue indefinitely in this isolated state. That's simply not true.

Neutral for me.

I am divorced, but will commonly refer to myself as single, because I am. It's just me. I am, by definition, a single male.

True, but what if desire for a family and isolation turn toxic and you are left jaded and cynical? My point is waiting until you are dead is a problem nobody wants?

Happiness and Blessing ❤️

The meaning in the dictionary is of one ☝️ or unmarried but I think single is a blessing & comes with more freedom, & time to work on career, nurture all relationship’s with friends and family, freedom to travel and socialise, financial independence! That’s not to say I’m not looking to settle down, just taking my time to find the right person to enjoy sharing the rest of my life with. 💕

In the spiritual realm, laying with a person constitutes a marriage, and allows for spiritual and physical reinforcement. This means that ungodly union between people outside of a covenant marriage counts as a marriage, whether we acknowledge or not. For those who have done this in the past, it is not truly appropriate to call themselves single until they have repented before the Lord, gotten the Lord's approval to move on, and broken soul ties with their former partners.

It’s not really the label that’s positive or negative. it’s only a word used to point to a deeper context. Divorced, widowed, separated, un married, single by choice, celibate, and many more of life’s circumstances hide under the guise of single? so what type of single is the person is more helpful in a practical sense for people looking to date

Being single should be celebrated and enjoy.

I know a pastor who has a ministry focused on single Christian youth, and she says something very interesting about the season of being single. She says, “Better to be single than poorly married.” Being single doesn’t mean you’re stuck; the one who’s stuck is the person who married the wrong person. So take advantage of this time and choose wisely the person you will spend the rest of your life with.

For me, single means not being married or committed or dating someone, it has no emotional charge, it is a neutral term, but I think it is different for each person depending on their history.

Terms like single are only meaningful when there is shared exclusive meaning .... More than the ambiguous uncoupled term In order for single to be significant beyond saying you are available, the term single needs to be more descriptive more than not currently married We should not be afraid of stigmas but also we should not be over generalizing with stereotypes Even if you get filtered out unjustly, I still think it is better to be honest , so that trust doesn't have to be rebuilt

I think the single season is so precious! It’s a positive. As for the label itself, initially I couldn’t see the reason for asking, then I search the Bible, and don’t see the term which is interesting. In Corinthians Paul refers to married and unmarried. Never thought about the ‘term’ before this question being asked. Interesting…

If someone has a problem with being labeled ‘single’ they’re clearly masking the real problem 😅

I hope to get married one day, but in the meantime, I'm so thankful for this season of singleness as it has allowed me to serve the Lord in ways that I wouldn't be able to if I was married. The term 'single' does not hold negative connotations for me, but rather a humbling and a serving one which I count as joy. We are so much more and far more precious than our marital status.

ChatGPT recommends “uncoupled”

The “single” label has functional use (dating, applying for things, tax purposes), but otherwise it can be very unhelpful. It shouldn’t define us or our worth, but churches often put marriage+family on such a pedestal, that singles feel excluded. It’s a case of including everyone - so us single people aren’t left out, but also that marrieds can attend a small group and social activities. I try to meet up with married friends but they are often too busy (family etc), which leads to isolation.

yeah it's biblical. back to the Bible or back to the jungle.

Not at all. I do relish the thought of changing it to marriage. I would have to think higher of social media for it to really mean anything.