Specifically about guy/girl relationships.
This question has been laid upon my heart for quite some time now. I have often thought that nothing can come from, or prove harmful, from teasing as long as you are joking. But upon recent discoveries and realizations, I have come to the knowledge that this is not the case. Please listen to me, and search the Scriptures like the Bereans in Acts 17:11.
First off, ask yourself this question, what is marriage? Is it something in order to give yourself gratification? Is it something to be taken lightly? Is marriage something legal only, with no other meanings annexed to it? The answers to those questions can easily be found in this following passage.
Ephesians 5:22-33
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,
because we are members of his body.
"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
We see in this passage that Marriage is something sacred, and should not be something trifled with. In Marriage, according to this passage, we are to present our Marriage as representing what Christ has done, and is doing with His Church. What a massive responsibility and duty this is!
You may be wondering what this has to do with teasing... Well by teasing someone about a person, or “pairing people up” Causes that person(s) being teased to have romantic thoughts, whether they want to or not. No big deal, right? Wrong.
Keep that in mind while I ask you another question. When is the right time to marry? To answer this question, you must also have an understanding of why you want to marry. Is it for gratification? Is it for companionship? Is it for the romance? Or is it to give glory to God through the marriage? Now don’t get me wrong here, those first things aren’t bad in-and-of themselves. In fact, God says in Genesis 2:18, “And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”” But, what comes first in your desire for marriage is the question here. So to answer the question before, it is when the man is ready, financially, emotionally, and spiritually.
Now I may be getting a little off track, but why did I say “Man”? I will answer that with a passage.
Genesis 2:24
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
So what does all of this have to do with teasing? Well by constantly ‘liking’ someone, or ‘considering’ someone, you are not training for marriage! You are also not content with where God has put you in life. God has put you where you are for a purpose; whether it is to learn from your parents as to how marriage is to be, or to prepare for marriage.
In addition to all that, it causes guys and girls to get emotionally entangled, feelings when nothing comes of it, and practically trains you for divorce.
Now I have done all this before, and I ask for all of your forgiveness for teasing you just for fun. I pray that I will no longer be a stumbling block to others, and instead would uplift them, and encourage them to follow Christ.
I hope that this did not offend anyone, I didn’t mean any of this in a harmful way, I was just speaking from my heart. After reading all of this, I hope you understand why I now have zero tolerance for teasing.
Blessed be our God and Savior!
Your Brother in Christ,
Matthew Carmichael
