The Pitfalls of Young Love

Perhaps the greatest romantic hazard is to date during your teen years. This is “the bloom of youth,” when passion is rising to peak power. (1 Corinthians 7:36) Dr. Ari Kiev observes: “For most young people, relationships with the opposite sex . . . are frequently aggravated by an abundance of confusing sex drives.” No wonder, then, that youths often fall ‘in love’ with the greatest of ease. “I met this fellow,” recalls a young woman named Barbara. “We corresponded maybe for about a year. And then in one of his letters, he said that he loved me. I said to myself, ‘I’ve only seen him once. How in the world can he say that?’”

But even when teen couples try to restrain passion and pursue a relationship on the basis of compatibility, the odds are slim that they will stay compatible! Why? Because a teenage personality is in a state of flux. You are discovering who you are, what you really like, what you want to do with your life. Things important to you today may mean little tomorrow. Teen romances are thus often doomed relationships, seldom culminating in marriage.

Wisely, then, the Bible recommends marriage only for those “past the bloom of youth.” (1 Corinthians 7:36) This would rule out dating while a person is still very young. Following this advice may not be easy, but it will certainly “remove vexation from your heart, and ward off calamity from your flesh” if you do not date until you are old enough to marry.​—Ecclesiastes 11:10.

[Picture on page 18]

Teen romances seldom lead to marriage but often to heartache