Courtship is a kind of relationship between a mature man and woman who have reached marriageable age. The significance of courtship is for both partners to date each other (without sex) for a period, and decide whether they are suitable for marriage.
The Bible and most cultures across the world support the act of courtship. There is no thumb rule for the period of courtship. But, it should be long enough for both partners to be convinced that they are ripe and compatible for marriage.
“For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence,” Says the Lord of hosts (Mal 2:16).
Courtship involves a great deal of discussion and proper planning between the partners. It is best done together in places with less distraction, but private places that could encourage fornication should be disallowed.
3 Major Benefits of Courtship
1. Courtship Reveals More Information
A lot of marriages got crashed because there was lack of basic information to execute the success of the relationship.
Courtship will give you the opportunity to retrieve enough vital information you need to know about your prospective spouse. You can get this information through interaction with each other and investigation from close associates.
It is a good thing to know the history of the partner you intend to marry with respect to; the family background, health, finance and belief. If you get this information, then you would be able to decide marrying such person or not.
2. Courtship Builds Strong Friendship
There is more to marriage than the wedding ceremony. So, courtship gives room for intimacy of both partners. And, it is also a period that builds the foundation of a strong friendship.
It will be a difficult task for a marriage that has a firm foundation on friendship to break away. Many marriages break apart because some wives do not have a sense of belonging in their matrimonial home.
3. Courtship Strengthens Marriage
Courtship preserves your body and emotional feelings for the person you intend to marry. Thus, your marriage will be built on a stronger foundation when compared to someone who messed up in premarital sex.
The chances of getting a divorce will be reduced, because both couples understand the ‘price’ they paid for their unity during the courtship through abstinence. Such abstinence goes a long way to build a strong trust in the heart of both couples.
It is obvious that the act of courtship before marriage is unpopular in our generation which is the major cause of high rate of divorce in our midst when compared to the past. I strongly recommend to Christians to do a transparent courtship before marriage.
