Sam Allberry, 7 Myths about Singleness (Wheaton: Crossway, 2019), 175 pp.
Reviewed by Matthew Cain
If you are single, you should read this book. If you are married, you should read this book. In a very enjoyable and, at times, humorous reading style, Allberry seeks to present the balanced, biblical picture of singleness: “It is a positive gift and blessing from God.” And his first six chapters do that particularly well. He challenges negative statements and stereotypes about singleness and shows how it can be advantageous, how it opens up opportunities for service in the local church, and how it does not mean that a single person is missing out on God’s goodness in their life. The seventh myth takes the reverse approach and deals with challenges a single Christian faces.
The real blessing of the book lies in its refreshing honesty and its practicality. The author (ordained as an Anglican minister in the UK, now with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and an editor for The Gospel Coalition) was saved in his late teens, is now in his forties, and has never married. He is frank about the misperceptions, longings, loneliness and disappointments he deals with. Implicit in his experience are ways that married people can better consider needs of single believers. The book is good counsel on a subject that is rarely taught.
