Chesterton on Vocational Singleness
"Whenever monks come back, marriages will come back."
This G. K. Chesterton quote has always challenged me to think more deeply about the impact of too little vocational singleness and (more optimistically) about the impact of right theology and support of vocational singleness.
Chesterton lamented that too few Christians were committing to kingdom singleness, and too few Christians were faithfully walking out Christian marriage.
But he didn't see these vocations as competing in a zero-sum game. Instead, he suggested that robust teaching and practice of vocational singleness was the key to healthier Christian marriage.
When Christians default to marriage, they take it for granted. They fail to humbly approach Christian marriage as a gift from God and a calling to sacrificial kingdom work. Instead they see it as an ordinary entitlement.
But Chesterton imagined a Church where every Christian discerned between both vocational singleness and Christian marriage, more committed to vocational singleness, and more faithfully stewarded Christian marriage.
Since Chesterton's death, less than 1% of Christians have committed to vocational singleness and marriage rates have dropped by 60%.
The Church failed to heed his wisdom, and churches struggle to care for an increasing number in uncommitted singleness.
Clearly attempts to boost Christian marriage by
ignoring biblical teaching on divorce and remarriage,
capitulating to the Sexual Revolution's decoupling of sex and child-rearing,
tolerating casual Christian romance, and
promising fairy-tale weddings accompanied by life-changing sex (as long as you're a virgin)
DIDN'T work.
What if we took Chesterton's advice this time? What if we started by teaching what Jesus and Paul actually had to say about vocational singleness?
What if we celebrated and valued vocational singles in our churches and families? And what if we invited people to discern and helped vocational singles make family in intentional Christian communities?
