As Christians, we must ask why we do the things we do to see how we can apply Scripture and wisdom to our actions. It is a lifetime challenge to take every thought captive to Christ and to be renewed in our minds. But proper thinking is an essential for proper living and joy in righteousness. Therefore, asking and answering the right questions is an important step in our fight for joy.
Therefore I ask this question for the joy of singles:
When should a couple, (as a couple), do pre-marital counseling?
Obviously, before marriage, but what about before or after engagement? I don’t think my question is as silly as it sounds.
In many churches today, members get engaged, and then hurry into the pastor’s office to do some marriage counseling before they get married. It would be easy for me to buy into this tradition.
My friend told me he plans to do it differently. He plans to go through marriage counseling with the girl he’s interested in marrying before he gets engaged. That was the first time I heard of marriage counseling being done that way. What a wonderful idea! (Of course, I’m presuming pre-marital counseling provides a substantial amount of wisdom, discernment, and ground work for those who attend.)
When people get engaged, they set a wedding date and start planning for that big day. It seems like they have crossed a point of no return. Wouldn’t it be wiser for us to learn what God says about marriage and get our spiritual house in order before making that commitment? Once the girl has a ring on her finger, it will either be too late and hard for you to change your mind or an opportunity to emotionally traumatize yourself by giving your heart away to a girl who will not be your spouse.
