Beginnings...

"Deepening intimacy without defining a level of commitment is plainly dangerous. It's like going mountain climbing with a partner who isn't sure that she wants the responsilbity of holding your rope. When you've climbed two thousand feet up a mountain face, you don't want to have a conversation about how she feels 'tied down' by your relationship. In the same way, many people experience deep hurt when they open themselves up emotionally and physically only to be abandoned by others who proclaim they're not ready for 'serious committment.'

Intimacy without commitment is defrauding. Intimacy without friendship is superficial. A relationship based only on physical attraction and romantic feelings will last only as long as the feelings last.

We're told that love is primarily a feeling. At first glance this seems innocent enough - we often feel love, and this isn't necessarily wrong. But when we make feelings the litmus test of love, we place ourselves at the center of importance. By themselves, our feelings don't do others one bit of good. If a man 'feels' love for the poor but never gives money to help them or never shows kindness to them, what are his feelings worth? They may benefit him, but if his actions don't communicate his love, his feelings mean nothing.

By inflating the importance of feelings, we neglect the importance of putting love into action. When we evaluate the quality of our love for someone else simply by our own emotional fulfillment, we practice selfishness."

--Joshua Harris--

"I Kissed Dating Goodbye"