I've spent most of the afternoon preparing some devotions to take on an upcoming youth trip and came across some notes for a young men's session on purity that was probably at least 5 years ago.
Haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd pass along part of those notes here.
HOW A YOUNG MAN SHOULD TREAT A GIRL
1. Like God's daughter (2 Corinthians 4:14-18; Galatians 3:26). Treat God's daughter like you would want someone to treat your daughter.
2. Like a sister in Christ (1 Timothy 5:1-2). Be no more romantic with a sister in Christ than you would with a sister in the flesh, and you'll be OK.
3. Like somebody else's wife (1 Corinthians 7:1-2). Many people involved in a relationship wrongly assume they are going to one day get married and take the liberty of acting like they're already husband and wife. We all know that even the best of relationships have a chance of ending before they reach the altar (which is sometimes a good result if the purpose of dating or courting or whatever you call is to seek God's will in the selection of a marriage partner). "I will have no physical contact with this girl that I wouldn't want another man having with my wife" would be a safe rule to follow. A young man should conduct himself in such a way that he will have no regrets in the case that the two parties decide it is not God's will (or not their will) for them to be married.
4. Like God is your chaperone (Jeremiah 23:23-24; Hebrews 13:5). Because He is. So don't do anything you'd be ashamed for Him to see, because He does.
With marriages falling apart all around us, it's more important now than ever for us to train our young people on how to make the second most important decision they'll make in their lives (who to marry), and how to prepare for and enter into that relationship.
Haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd pass along part of those notes here.
HOW A YOUNG MAN SHOULD TREAT A GIRL
1. Like God's daughter (2 Corinthians 4:14-18; Galatians 3:26). Treat God's daughter like you would want someone to treat your daughter.
2. Like a sister in Christ (1 Timothy 5:1-2). Be no more romantic with a sister in Christ than you would with a sister in the flesh, and you'll be OK.
3. Like somebody else's wife (1 Corinthians 7:1-2). Many people involved in a relationship wrongly assume they are going to one day get married and take the liberty of acting like they're already husband and wife. We all know that even the best of relationships have a chance of ending before they reach the altar (which is sometimes a good result if the purpose of dating or courting or whatever you call is to seek God's will in the selection of a marriage partner). "I will have no physical contact with this girl that I wouldn't want another man having with my wife" would be a safe rule to follow. A young man should conduct himself in such a way that he will have no regrets in the case that the two parties decide it is not God's will (or not their will) for them to be married.
4. Like God is your chaperone (Jeremiah 23:23-24; Hebrews 13:5). Because He is. So don't do anything you'd be ashamed for Him to see, because He does.
With marriages falling apart all around us, it's more important now than ever for us to train our young people on how to make the second most important decision they'll make in their lives (who to marry), and how to prepare for and enter into that relationship.
