If it doesn't work out, we can always break up. Even in a lasting marriage, the baggage left over from previous dating relationships can be frustrating and painful. As Christian parents, we talk a lot about sexual abstinence, but what we should also keep in mind is the need for emotional abstinence. Dating, by its very nature, opens the door to heartache and disappointment. Courtship, on the other hand, is a process by which young people can get to know and enjoy one another while maintaining their physical and emotional integrity.
Courtship also offers practical benefits.
For one thing, bringing Dad into the picture takes the responsibility for saying yes or no to a relationship off a daughter's shoulders. Perhaps, the biggest benefit of courtship is that it also allows us, as a family, to better understand the person interested in one of our children. In our home, a young man interested in Heather or Catharine is apt to find himself playing basketball with Ned and Drew or helping out in the kitchen after dinner. While the benefits of courtship are intriguing, folks may balk at changing the way they've looked at relationship building between the sexes. Dating, as it has evolved in the 20th century, is readily accepted and understood.