All of these questions, thoughts and concerns came to mind when I entertained the question should I purchase a home.  The final conclusion:  I continued renting a house with my buddies.

Why Not Buy

A couple of years later, I met with a financial planner and he suggested that it might be a good idea for me to purchase a home within the next year.  Again I found myself asking the same question—Should I wait to buy a house until I get married?

As a 30-something, I was traveling the world, serving God and loving life.  Why should I buy a house when I knew that I would either get married soon or be moved to a new location?  While I didn’t have a girlfriend at the time or any prospects of one, I figured after thirty-plus years God must have someone or something right around the corner for me.

So the people of Israel settled in the land of Goshen in Egypt.  And before long, they began to prosper there, and their population grew rapidly (Genesis 47:20).

And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed (1 Chronicles 17:9).

Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food you produce (Jeremiah 30:5).

 If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down (Jeremiah 42:10).

Reading God’s Word helped me to discover that I was inhibiting God’s work in my life because I spent too much time looking down the road at where I thought I was heading instead of experiencing the present.  I realized that I was missing out on many of God’s blessings right in front of me because I had not taken root where He had placed me for such a time as this.

I decided to purchase a home.  Although I am still living alone, I can how see the Lord has allowed me to use my home in ways that I couldn’t have planned and believe that I made the right choice.

A final note:  If you are considering purchasing a house, know what you can afford and purchase within your means. 

SHE SAID:  Ahhh, “The American Dream.”  Go to college.  Get married.  Buy a house.  Have some kids. …

Whoa, wait a minute.  Back up there.  There’s seems to be something missing in this dream lineup for those of us who are reading (or writing) this response.  Ah, yes.  It’s the “get married” part.   

So does that mean if one does not get married, that he or she cannot keep moving on to the next “life marker” and become a home owner? 

This is the same question that I wrestled with about five or so years ago.  I had just moved back to my hometown and was at a crossroads in my life.  Up until that time, I had never thought about buying a home on my own before.  That was something I had pushed way off into the future—something I thought I would do once I was married.  But since my plans hadn’t worked out so well in the marriage department, I figured I was ready to see what the Lord wanted to do in my life as a single person.