He pointed out that many Christians have spiritualized marriage making it look as a solution to sin, an idea he strongly opposes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that marriage has been weaponized in Western Christianity, giving and sexuality have been weaponized in Western Christianity\u2026 There\u2019s this notion that if you\u2019re living in sin, you need to get married, without understanding that marriage doesn\u2019t fix sin,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Franklin also highlighted the pressure single women, particularly Black women, face within their communities and pointed out the scrutiny they go through during family gatherings with questions from relatives about their marital status.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s as if not being married or having children is seen as a flaw, a sign that something is wrong with you,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n
The gospel singer who has been married for 28 years further lamented on how the Christian community often elevates marriage and disregard the potential for single individuals to serve God.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarriage is a good thing,\u201d Franklin acknowledged, \u201cbut Paul also said that some of you could be even more useful in the kingdom if you were single. Yet, we\u2019ve made marriage a necessary distraction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Franklin shared how some of his friends were pressured into marriage by the belief that they needed to be married to serve in ministry.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople rush into marriage thinking they\u2019re fulfilling God\u2019s will, but they\u2019re really just following man\u2019s dogma,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can be single and be used by God. Being married is not a prerequisite for God\u2019s hand on your life, but we\u2019ve weaponized it.”<\/p>\n