I just found an interesting post on the RI. It was about dating and what people's opinions were. Well, I posted mine and here it is:

I've never dated. I made a commitment to God a long time ago (partially inspired by my parents) that I'd wait until my relationship with Him was at the right spot. Then I'll start looking. I've had a false hope once, but the experience taught me a lot about myself. Now I'm extremely willing to wait.

I'm at a Bible College where there's a joke that this is Eugene
Bridal College. There are a lot of people (especially girls, but guys too.) that have come here to find their mate and that's one of their biggest reasons for being here. Sure, I want to find "the one" but at the moment I'm working on my walk with THE ONE, and that's what I want to focus on. I'm willing to wait, and make female friends until God, the Author of my Love Story (using a little Ludy terminology there), starts the ball rolling.

I see different types of relationships here and in other places I've been and I've drawn a few conclusions.

1. Dating just because others are doing so is becoming like them. We aren't supposed to follow the crowd. We have a higher standard, a commitment to follow that makes our choice of mate very important.

2. Dating just for the pleasure of the other's company can sometimes (not all the time) be selfish. When you focus on what he/she can do for you, you have a problem. If you marry that person without working through that, you have a marriage that is based on selfishness and is pretty much doomed.

3. Relationships (not just guy/girl, but all relationships) should be focused on God. The relationships that I see that seem to be good and have it together are the ones where the people are more concerned about pleasing God than each other. They make a commitment to follow Him and be godly in their lives.

4. Most teenagers (notice I said most, 'cause there are the few exceptions) are not mature enough to handle a solid commitment. They don't have the experience or the head knowledge to keep a relationship from escalating. As they get older, God becomes more ingrained in them and that increases the chance for a relationship to stay together.

5. Dating (or courtship) should be for the purpose of getting to know this person who has a 80% (better yet, 99.9%) chance to become your mate. Dating for any other reason just distracts the parties involved from what God wants them to do. (see Genesis 1 or 2)

6. God has to be the priority or else any type of search is going to fail and you're going to feel the consequences. Obedience is key.

7. Also, commitment is a key ingredient to a couple. If you're going to marry this person, you have to be committed to the rest of your life with them. Scary prospect and something we all should think about.

*grins* Those are just some observations on what I've seen and heard debated. Josh Harris and Eric and Leslie Ludy have good things to say in that department if you want more reading.