To understand the difference between God’s way and the world’s,
consider the dating practices common in the Western world.
Many assume that when people are dating, sexual intercourse is
appropriate to determine if they are compatible. They believe sex is
simply a natural expression of love between two people and thereby the
natural thing to do for individuals living together or “going together” in
an exclusive dating relationship. If such a couple then breaks up and the
two start dating others, the common assumption is that they are then free
to have sexual relations with their new partners.
This practice of serial monogamy—being sexually active with only
one unmarried person at a time—is widely considered a suitable way to
date and find a future mate.
In the United States about two thirds of married women in their 20s
cohabited with their future husbands before marriage (Robert Moeller,
“America’s Morality Report Card,” Christian Reader, November-December
1995, pp. 97-100). This dubious practice is followed by all too many young
adults in the Western world.
Another honorable principle, according to current standards, is
that partners should disclose any sexually transmissible diseases
before intercourse so appropriate protection can be employed. In addition,
practicing “safe sex” (using contraceptives to avoid disease and
unwanted pregnancies) is touted as the right thing to do. These practices
are so widely accepted that increasing numbers of school systems
provide free contraceptives to students, no questions asked.
Although these approaches may appear to be logical, they do not measure
up to God’s standards. What many do not understand is that such faulty logic is precisely the cause of so many unhappy relationships and
failed marriages. Let’s consider what God says.
