Christian teachings on romantic love guide people away from self-centered forms of romantic behavior toward relationships that focus on the happiness and well-being of the other person.
What seem like restraints are actually guidelines for the most fulfilling human relationships, which involve selflessly loving another person.
As more people study Christian teachings about romantic love, some people will misunderstand them as being too restrictive. However, Christian teachings are intended to free people from the constraints of self-centered behavior. How often does romantic love involve a person who tries to use someone they are attracted to for selfish reasons? This isn’t to say that it is wrong for a person to be attracted to another, but that real love is not selfish and that attraction should not be the foundation for a romantic relationship.
What seem like restraints are actually guidelines for the most fulfilling human relationships, which involve selflessly loving another person. Christian teachings on romantic love guide people away from self-centered forms of romantic behavior toward relationships that focus on the happiness and well-being of the other person.
What seems restrictive on a superficial level actually helps a person overcome the pitfalls of natural desires that are selfish and harmful to the other person. Relationships that do not focus on the life and happiness of the other person are actually the restrictive ones because they can be controlling and they leave the other person feeling that they are not genuinely cared about. Christian teachings on romantic love are not restrictive but liberating.
Yes, you're absolutely right. I personally used to found my parents really restrictive and super-strict. Little did I know then that what they did was fr my good. Now, I truly acknowledge their efforts in making me the Christian I am.
As a parent to our kids, we wanted to make sure that they will grow as a better person. For them to grow, there are times that we make them do all kinds of things they don’t want to do. We don’t let them eat certain things they want to eat. And we make them eat certain other things they don’t want to eat. We make them do chores. They want to do their own thing, but we often insist they do it our way. It makes us unpopular with the kids, but we impose these things on them because we're preparing them for adulthood. We want them to prosper. We do it out of love.