Camper's Notes : The Sweetest Link Part 1

(Nota bene: The notes were taken by one of the campers, Sis. Wenslyn Reyes, as the special Topic, The Sweetest Link, was delivered by Bro. Collen Lo during the YGC Student Conference-Real or No Deal.. )

THE SWEETEST LINK
Brother Collen Lo

A quick survey of the young people present indicates that people do want relationships in the span of their lifetimes. All desire to be attached in one way or another. The difference is, however, that people seek these relationships in different ways.

Human standards change. Clothes that were fashionable a few decades ago are ridiculous today. The standards for beauty and practice in clothing, hair, and other forms of art are varying in every generation. Yet the standard of God’s Word does not change, and we need to submit our lovelives to whatever it is He has to say about this area.

How Should We View Dating and Courtship?

It is true that romantic relationships fulfill a need of human nature. They often provide the comfort, affirmation, and companionship that people naturally desire. The fact is, however, that young people are unable to handle the emotional and physical pressures that accompany premature romantic attachment.

Love in itself is no evil thing; it is a beautiful invention of God. Yet just like so many good things in this world, it can be applied by fallen human beings in sinful and wrong ways.
A look at the modern dating scene will reflect this reality.

Modern dating practices, based on emotions and passion, often lead to sexual arousal that ought to be renounced. The norms of society are based upon a desire for self-gratification. People enter relationships seeking to be entertained, to be cared for, and to be satisfied emotionally, physically, or otherwise.

God’s Word speaks clearly against sexual involvement outside of marriage. It is a detestable act in His sight, and an act that will reap definite consequences. Therefore, practices that are founded upon impurity should be rejected. There is simply no other way to true romantic happiness except by the way of the original manual, the infallible Word of God.

A closer look at the patterns of dating will show their defectiveness.

1. Dating leads to intimacy but not necessarily to commitment. Couples tend to become too close to each other emotionally and physically without truly having a committed relationship in mind for the near future.


2. Dating tends to skip the “friendship” stage of a relationship. Jumping directly into dating will keep people from observing each other in the more neutral ground of friendship.
   Dating often mistakes a physical relationship for love. Society’s dating patterns tend to emphasize the physical aspect of a relationship, and couples often confuse physical intimacy with true, giving love.


3. Dating often isolates a couple from other vital relationships. Premature dating relationships usually occupy so much time for couples that they have no quality time to commit to family, friends, and other vital relationships.


4. Dating, in many cases, distracts young adults from their primary responsibility of preparing for the future. When young people are in a relationship leading nowhere, they often don’t have time and effort left to develop their god-given talents, or to fulfill their current responsibilities.
   


5. Dating can cause discontentment with God’s gift of singleness. Dating often crowds out the human mind with an idea that singlehood is not good, while it is actually a beautiful season of life given by God.


6. Dating creates an artificial environment for evaluating another person’s character. Relationships built upon secluded time together prevent individuals from understanding each other in the context of reality.

(to be continued...)