Opposite-Sex Friendship. RCCG Sunday School Manual.

 

Opposite-Sex Friendship. RCCG Sunday School Manual.

 

 

Memory Verse: “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts”-Romans 13:14. 

Bible Passage: Romans 12:9-10; Proverbs 6:27-28. 

Introduction

Christian youths come together for diverse reasons such as academic activities, business/social engagements, spiritual exercises and so on. In the process, making friends with the opposite sex may be inevitable. This is not a sin as long as the motive is pure(friendship with no sting attached). However, it becomes an issue of concern when we consider the common mistakes foreseeable. We shall attempt to unravel some of the mistakes as well as discuss some of the tips for a pure friendship with the opposite sex. 

 

OUTLINES 

1. COMMON MISTAKES
2. TIPS FOR PURE FRIENDSHIP

COMMON MISTAKES

Here are some of the common mistakes youth makes as they relate with their friends of the opposite sex.

1. Ignoring proper boundaries. 
2. Misrepresenting the attention of the opposite sex.
3. Tolerating too much in the friendship and hanging on too long.
4. Giving a blind eye to dangerous signals such as emotional attraction, attempting to touch a sensitive part of the body, holding hands, cuddling, pecking and so on (Prov. 6:27-28; Romans 12:1).
5. Getting involved much too soon and going too far such as involvement in family functions, financial/business commitment and so on.
6. Ignorantly sending potential spouses away.

 

TIPS FOR TRUE FRIENDSHIP 

1. Define the friendship and set clear boundaries. 
2. Never assume anything but ask questions when in doubt.
3. Do not allow anyone form a canopy over your life under the pretence of friendship. 
4. Do not take advantage of your closeness to your friend to seduce him/her into any dirty game or romantic pleasure (1 Thess. 5:22; Col. 2:21).
5. Differentiate friendship from intimacy.
6. Do not always seek to be in lonely places or dark corners with a friend of the opposite sex. 
7. Try and include others in activities instead of isolating yourself with one person.
8. Make a priority of same-sex friendship. Your bosom friendship should not be of the opposite sex. You can have them as close friends but not as closest friends. 
9. Seek the opportunity to serve and not be served or entertained. Real friendship is not on what you can get from others but on how to serve others. In service, we find true friendship (Romans 12:10-11). 
10. If you are in a relationship leading to marriage, make sure your partner meets with your opposite-gender friend.
11. Guard your heart. Don does not allow premature romance to ruin your heart, which is the centre of your destiny (Prov. 4:23). 
12. Keep everything strictly platonic(surface and plain friendship). 

CONCLUSION: Prioritise same-sex friendship. If you must have a friend of the opposite gender, know your boundaries and make sure you talk about them.

 

QUESTIONS 

1. What are the common mistakes some youths make with friends of the opposite sex?
2. Mention at least seven (7) tips for pure friendship among youths of the opposite sex.

 

ASSIGNMENT 

Check through your relationship with friends of the opposite sex and apply the tips you have learned to keep the friendship pure (No mark). 

 

 

 

Action Point
PS: If you would like to have an online course on any of the courses that you found on this blog, I will be glad to do that on an individual and corporate level, I will be thrilled to do that because I have trained several individuals and groups and they are doing well in their various fields of endeavour. Some of those that I have trained include staffs of Dangote Refinery, FCMB, Zenith Bank, New Horizons Nigeria, and Phillips Consulting among others. Please come on Whatsapp and let’s talk about your training. You can reach me on Whatsapp HERE. Please note that I will be using Microsoft Team to facilitate the training.

I know you might agree with some of the points raised in this article. You might disagree with some of the issues raised. Let me know your views about the topic discussed. We would appreciate it if you can drop your comment. Thanks in anticipation.

CRMNUGGETS is committed to fact-checking in a fair, transparent and non-partisan manner. Therefore, if you’ve found an error in any of our reports, be it factual, editorial, or an outdated post, please contact us to tell us about it.