SOME DON'TS OF DATING
First, all of us need to realize that dating is one of the most exciting experiences in our life. Dating serves many important purposes. It is an important part of our growing up. But there are some things that we need to remember when dating.
DON'T
OVERDO IT
Some boys and girls have lost all sense of balance and perspective when it come to dating. Hold a penny up to your eye. What can you see? Copper! Now take it down and pitch it to one side. What can you see now? People! You don t want to lose the penny but you want to see more than it. Keep your dates, but don t overdo dating. Consider how often to have a date, whether on school nights, or at other times.
DON'T BE
DISCOURAGED
If you don t have as many dates as Mary, don't think you'll be destined to live single all your life. Maybe she is a bit more mature or perhaps got off to dating a bit earlier. But just you wait, you'll catch up and find the right mate. John may feel a bit shy and thinks he is doomed to bachelorhood, but if he will look around, most men get married eventually.
DON'T
BECOME INVOLVED WITH RISKY THINGS
During the time of growing up young people are trying out their social skills and experiences. They want above all else to be socially acceptable to others with whom they associate. For this reason many young people get started drinking on dates. To use alcohol and other drugs are not part of their life, but fearing disapproval, they go along with the crowd or date forgetting what is right. We could add to this such things as any sex perversion. Petting would come under this heading (Galatians 5:19-21). Again, remember dating is one of the most exciting experiences in our life. It serves many important purposes. But there are some things that we need to remember when dating.
All have emotions. These vary in intensity with everyone. Boys are responsible for the moral, physical and social well-being of a girl. Girls have the key to any moral situation, which should be based on God's Word. It is important that you face each thing with "heads up" and not be unduly motivated and controlled by emotions. It is a wise and intelligent person who knows when and how to stop.
I always get in the doghouse here on this point. Superficially, youngsters "go steady" because two people decide they like each other best. But usually there's more to it than this! Going steady is the teenage way of getting Social Security, but there's another side of the coin.
Going steady very often ends up in "staying home steady." When a couple falls into this kind of rut, which is inevitable over a period of time, they rob themselves of the fun of teen years. Consequently this business of going steady too soon can turn out to be a bad bargain. A person stands to lose, in the long run, a great deal more than he gains.
Let us as parents remember that it was not long ago that we were teenagers. We were having to deal with the same problems that our children are today. Let us train them in God's Word and remember that we can have peace of mind knowing that we have spent time with them reading and studying from God's word.