Dating: God’s way Versus the World’s Way

Creflo A. Dollar

It's a task to find a decent movie without the steamy love scenes, even on prime time TV! Society depicts a successful relationship as one that involves sex in the early stages. However, the purpose for dating is to prepare for marriage. How can a healthy marriage be built on a foundation of lust? As a matter of fact, dating should be a time to establish a friendship and discover whether your potential partner is suitable for marriage, not a time to act upon lustful thoughts.

Single people should strive to build relationships upon a stronger foundation—God's plans and purposes. If couples become engrossed in racy Hollywood scenes, they'll feel compelled to mimic those behaviors, instead of waiting until a genuine, godly relationship has a chance to bloom. I understand that some people simply don't know any other way, which is why I'm motivated to share in this area. Heavy petting and intimacy before marriage places a relationship on shaky ground. Strong marriages are built on a solid foundation of mutual respect, appreciation, and unconditional love—the God—kind of love. To this very day, after 20 years of marriage my wife and I are still the best of friends, and we have a great time together—we thoroughly enjoy each other's company.

During our dating period we abstained from sexual relations and developed our friendship over a period of three years. I know most people can't even imagine abstaining that long! However, when we decided to date God's way, He helped us do the seemingly impossible. Taffi and I have built our lives with the wealth of wisdom that comes from the Scriptures. As a result, we enjoy a mammoth reward; we wouldn't have had it any other way!

We became good friends in the early stages of our relationship. We had an amazing time getting to know each other and growing in the things of God. We attended church together, played tennis, attended local events, movies, and spent quality time in fellowship with other Christians. We had a great time exploring each other's personalities and sharing our hopes and dreams for the future.

To maintain our holiness, we refrained from anything that stimulated our hormones. We didn't sit around talking about sex. We guarded our hearts, and abstained from temptations that would taint our relationship with God and each other. Today we have five awesome children and the wonderful marriage God intended.

I encourage you to pursue God's wisdom on how to govern your relationships. Allow Him to escort you into a relationship that supersedes even the best Hollywood movies! I know, because I live it every day.

— Dr. Creflo A. Dollar