Kirk Franklin, the ace US gospel singer, says marriage is not a prerequisite for receiving God’s favour.
In a recent episode of ‘The Funky Friday Podcast’, the 54-year-old choirmaster challenged the pressure on single people within many faith communities to marry to be seen as spiritually complete or favoured.
The Grammy-winning singer said this undue pressure often leads to rushed decisions and unhealthy relationships.
Franklin added that personal growth, spiritual maturity, and fulfilling one’s purpose are more important than achieving marital status.
“Any woman listening to this can attest to our culture: ‘Don’t be no 30, 35 single black women and go to the family reunion.’ All the older women are going to look at you and be like, ‘Why are you not married?’ Franklin said.
“It is like a prerequisite for identity and value. If you don’t have a man or kids, then something about you is broken. Do you understand how dysfunctional these messages are?
“[Apostle] Paul said that marriage is a necessary distraction. I have many friends who were in ministries in church, and the churches told them, ‘If you’re going to be in ministry, you can’t be single.’ So what people do is, that they quickly get married thinking that they’re fulfilling God’s will for their lives but they’re fulfilling man’s dogma.
“You can be single and be used by God. You can be single and have a purpose. Being married is not a prerequisite for God’s hand in your life. It’s not. But we’ve weaponised it. And they crucify people when those same marriages failed.”
View this post on Instagram
Advertisement
Franklin is married to Tammy Collins, with whom he has four children.
Copyright 2024 TheCable. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from TheCable.
Follow us on twitter @Thecablestyle