When you CAN do something it means you are Able, Permitted, Possible, or Designed to do something. That is pretty awesome to think that I was designed to be able to insist that people treat me well. Does that mean that every person in my life WILL treat me well? Uh, NO! Do I have to accept that behavior from them? Uh, No. So, why would I let a boy treat me any less than God created me to be? Uh, WOW. Do you know what the past tense of CAN is??? COULD. Could hurts me to say. Could means that I made a bad choice and, if I could go back, I would change what happened. Could usually comes with regret. 🙁
In our home, if we have a hard time deciding if something is right or wrong, we take it back to the Bible and see what it says about the subject. When we have friends or family members who treat us poorly, we look to see if our behaviors have lined up with the scriptures. The verses we go to about relationships is 1 Corinthians 13. It’s called the LOVE chapter. We all want to be loved and want to love other people, so why not seek out what LOVE is from the source, GOD.
So the Bible says this is what love IS. Anything that doesn’t look like this is NOT love and you can WALK the other way or INSIST to be treated with love. Sometimes that is hard to do. We may have to walk away from our friends or that cute guy that we want to like. We may have to stand up for ourselves and tell our ‘friends’ (and sometimes our family) that we don’t want to be treated in a way that makes us feel uncomfortable. When we deal with our friends and family, we also need to follow these verses and treat them with LOVE.
If a young man wants your attention and wants to love you, he will make you feel smart, funny and pretty. (And not because of what he can get from you) He will never ask you to do anything that will make you ashamed or feel dirty. (Love does not insist on its own way, it does not rejoice in wrongdoing) He will want you to spend time with your friends and family and would even want to hang out with you. (Love is patient and kind, it does not envy, it is not arrogant or rude) Boyfriends should draw you closer to God, not pull you away from Him. (Love rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things) Boyfriends should always make you feel good inside; not sick, worthless, jealous or angry. (Love endures all things)
When you are a teenager it is hard to find a boy that can measure up to all these standards. Sometimes you want to lower your standards just to have someone you can call “yours”. Each time you give your heart away, you lose a little piece of yourself. Most teens are not able to love someone else more than they love themselves. That takes maturity and maturity comes with living life and seeking God. It is almost impossible to find a teen boy who loves you the way God created you to be loved. It’s OK to wait for that person God has been preparing just for you.
In my family, with so many daughters, we have many different opinions on the topic of dating and boys. Some of my daughters want to wait to have a boyfriend, to hold hands, to kiss someone; to give him her heart until she is ready to be married. Some of my daughters enjoy having a young man to call her own and share her “life” with. A couple have gotten tired of waiting, tried to make it happen on their own and have had broken hearts. I love them all and continue to point them back to 1 Corinthians 13 to help them decide if they are being treated with love and if they are treating others with love. There is no cookie cutter answer about having a boyfriend because girls are not cookies. =D
In our study, Ava Sturgeon says, “As a daughter of worth, you should expect to be treated well. Dating the wrong guy is a tragic waste of you. God’s beautiful potential.” How true! Protect your heart. You are going to need all those pieces of yourself. If you find that your heart is already broken into little pieces, take them to God and let Him put them back together. He will. It’s not too late. He wrote the book on LOVE, so trust Him to show you what perfect LOVE looks like.
If what you are seeing and receiving from people does not match up with what the Bible says you deserve – turn around and head back toward God. You are on the wrong path. That leads me back to my life verse, Proverbs 3:6, “In all your ways acknowledge Him and HE will direct your paths”.
You CAN insist that boys/men/parents/siblings/friends treat you well. You CAN treat them well in return. It’s not too late to get on the right PATH facing God’s direction. Be blessed my friends.
Let’s Pray:
Father we thank you for creating us with the desire to be loved and to want to love others. Lord we want someone to love us the way YOU love us. Father, give us patience to wait on the person you are preparing for us. Give us people in our lives who support us, care about us and protect our hearts. We know that you are the source of all love and good things and that is what we want for ourselves and for our friends. Help us to always look to you for guidance and keep our feet on the right path. We love you, Lord. Amen
Mama T <3
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For the A Daughter’s Worth Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website from clicking the sign-up form button at the top of our webpage.
If you are interested in joining us in our GCH:decaf Teen Girls Ministry, please click the sign-up form button at the top of our webpage. Just follow the instructions on the form and hit submit. We’ll be happy to add you to one of our Online Bible Study Groups! Our new study is A Daughter’s Worth! Please email megan@girlfriendscoffeehour.com for more information