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''Dating should have an honorable purpose, to help a young man and woman determine if they want to get married to each other''.
There's been so many misconceptions about this subject.
Really, dating is any social activity in which your romantic interest is focused on one particular person and that person’s interest is focused on you.
Whether on the phone or face-to-face, in the open or in secret, if you and a friend of the opposite sex have a special romantic understanding and communicate regularly, it’s dating.
Whether on the phone or face-to-face, in the open or in secret, if you and a friend of the opposite sex have a special romantic understanding and communicate regularly, it’s dating.
What is the purpose of dating?
Dating should have an honorable purpose—to help a young man and woman determine if they want to get married to each other.
Some of your peers might take a casual view of dating. Perhaps they simply enjoy being with a special friend of the opposite sex, without any intention of marriage. Some might even view such a friend as little more than a trophy or an accessory to be seen with in public to boost their own self-esteem.
Often, though, such shallow relationships are short-lived. “Many young ones who date break up with each other a week or two later,” says a girl named Heather. “They come to view relationships as transitory—which in a sense prepares them for divorce rather than for marriage.”
Clearly, when you date someone, you’re affecting that person’s feelings. So be sure your intentions are honorable.—Luke 6:31.
If you date with no intention of marriage, you are acting like a child who plays with a new toy and then discards it
Think: Would you like someone to play with your feelings as if they were some child’s toy—to be picked up for a moment and then quickly abandoned? Then don’t do that to someone else! The Bible says that love “does not behave indecently.” 1 Corinthians 13:4, 5.
A youth named Chelsea says: “Part of me wants to say that dating should be just for fun, but it’s no fun when one person is taking it seriously and the other isn’t.”
Tip: To prepare for dating and marriage, read 2 Peter 1:5-7 and pick one quality you need to work on. In a month’s time, see how much you have learned about—and improved in—that quality.
Am I old enough to date?
At what age, do you think, is it appropriate for a youth to start dating?
Now ask one of your parents the same question.
Chances are, your answer is different from that of your parent. Or maybe not! You might be among the many youths who are wisely putting off dating until they’re old enough to know themselves better.
That’s what Danielle, 17, decided to do. She says: “Thinking back two years ago, what I would have looked for in a potential mate was so different from what I would look for now. Basically, even at this point I don’t trust myself to make such a decision. When I feel that my personality has been stable for a couple of years, then I’ll think about dating.”
There’s another reason why waiting is wise. The Bible uses the phrase “the bloom of youth” to describe the period of life when sexual feelings and romantic emotions first become strong. (1 Corinthians 7:36) To maintain close association with one particular member of the opposite sex while you’re still in this phase can fan the flames of desire and lead to wrong conduct.
True, that might mean little to your peers. Many of them may be all too eager to experiment with sex. But you can—you must—rise above that kind of thinking! After all, the Bible urges you to “flee from sexual immorality.” By waiting until you’re past the bloom of youth
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