THE RIGHT THING AT THE WRONG TIME IS THE WRONG THING

Our culture teaches us that if something is good we should seek to enjoy it immediately. So we microwave our food, e-mail our letters, and express mail our packages. We do our best to escape the confines of time by accelerating our schedules, speeding up our pace, and doing whatever it takes to beat the clock. You probably know exactly what I mean. How did you respond the last time you had to wait in line for something? Did you patiently wait your turn, or did you tap your toe and try to rush the experience?
Our "do it all now" mentality has tremendously affected the timing of today's dating relationships. Kids involve themselves in dating and even sexual relationships at an increasingly young age. As young people rush prematurely into these adult activities, most of their elders do little to correct them. After all what can adults say when they live by the same "grab it all now" attitude?
Why do we insist on living this way? In my opinion, we adopt the immediate gratification mentality because we've lost sight of the Biblical principle of seasons (see Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Just as spring's role is different from that of fall, so each of the seasons of our lives has a different emphasis, focus and beauty. One is not better than the other; each season yields its own unique treasures. We cannot skip ahead to experience the riches of another life season any more than a farmer can rush the spring. Each season builds on the one before it.
God has many wonderful experiences He wants to give to us, but He also assigns these particular experiences to particular seasons of our lives. In our humaneness, we often make the mistake of taking a good thing out of its appropriate season to enjoy it when we want it. Premarital sex is a prime example of this principle. Sex in itself is a wonderful experience (from what my married friends tell me), but if we indulge in it outside of God's plan, we sin. Like a fruit picked green or a flower plucked before it blossoms, our attempts to rush God's timing can spoil the beauty of His plan for0 our lives.
Just because something is good doesn't mean we should pursue it right now. We have to remember that the right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing.

By Joshua Harris, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" (excerpt)