Courtship! How should it be?

Distinguished Steemians, I hope you are having a wonderful time in this festive season. It's always a pleasant privilege being in this community. lest I forget, compliments of the season.

Marriage is the only institution where the certificate is issued at the commencement of a program and courtship is one controversial phenomenon among young people today.
Different persons hold different perceptions of the analysis of this concept. Well, as you know, we're all entitled to our opinions which I believe is one of the legitimate human rights. Let's dive into the concept of courtship from my perspective. Many have committed so many atrocities during this period.

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From my perspective, courtship is a period where two mature opposite-sex individuals who intend to spend the rest of their lives together as couples come together to get to know each other better.
It is an opportunity where the couple can decide the number of children they would want to have from the Union, the temperaments of both parties, they are likes and dislikes, family history, health challenges, how they would love to run their home, how to appropriate their finances. They may also want to discuss their future ambition and prospects by asking future realistic questions, like where do you see yourself in the next 5 years? So, it is a very important action that should precede marriage.

It is always said that a broken relationship is better than a broken marriage. I strongly support courtship before marriage because at this point you get to know who your spouse is. At this point, there might be some exposed temperament or information about the person you might not be comfortable with and may intend to end the relationship. It is unscriptural in Christianity to divorce your spouse and get remarried. The period of courtship will help you discover your spouse's strengths and weaknesses and scale your coping abilities. It helps minimize marital issues because you must have known the likes and dislikes of your spouse-to-be, and his or her ambitions, goals and life objectives.

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It is certain that no matter the number of years you spend with an individual they are certain information you may never discover about such individual. Though courtship is supposed to be a time to be open to your spouse-to-be, some people are always scared to relate sensitive information. They assume that it may end the relationship, so to them, it is wise to conceal such information until after marriage because they believe that at such point the partner can do nothing if he or she happens to practice the scripture and beliefs that divorce is not permitted among Christian couples. So the duration of courtship is relative and dependent on the individuals involved. If you love your partner so well and both of you are sincere to each other the courtship need not last long. I must say here that as a Christian you must be sure that your spouse-to-be is God's will for you or else you'll be doing trial and error thereby prolonging the period of courtship.

Hmm... It depends on what we call a successful marriage I will choose to sit on the fence on this aspect because in as much as it could help foster in successful marriage it is not a criterion for a successful marriage. I see a successful marriage as one that could have challenges but such challenges are amicably solved with understanding without escalating more issues or interference from neighbors or third parties. At courtship, you had known each other to some extent. This will make it easier to settle disputes. Courtship doesn't guarantee a successful marriage. In marriage, the couples must always be ready to unlearn learn and relent to curtail unnecessary misunderstandings.

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During courtship, the couples may get emotionally attracted to each other so courtship must be cautiously handled to avoid going against the scripture. So for me, sex is a no-no-no during courtship because it will be a contradiction of the scripture. Sex is meant for those who are legally married though some people have always of the opinion that they need to have sex during courtship to ascertain if their spouse to be is fertile or potent. This is absolutely wrong from my perspective based on the scripture.

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My advice to those in courtship is that they should try as much as possible to be open to their spouse-to-be. They should pray to God to reveal to them if the person they are undergoing the courtship with is truly their life partner to avoid life regret in marriage. They should not consider having sex as a normal thing because it displeases God. They should know that they have all the time to do that after courtship in marriage so they should wait till then. They should dress decently so as not to appear seductive to the apartment which will make them go insane. At this point, I will like to invite @boosj23 @nsijoro @basil20 to participate in this contest.