04/07/2008: "Relationship Ettiquette"

Tonight I visited a friend and I heard an interesting and quite shocking story. He had been dating a pretty girl for about seven weeks now and while things were still very early they seemed to be getting along quite well. Upon arriving at his house he told me of a Myspace message he received out of the blue from someone he didn't know and it was the ex-boyfriend of the girl he was currently seeing. He advised my friend that the girl he was dating was considering coming back to him, breaking up with my friend, and she had sent several text messages alluding to the fact that this relationship was soon to be over.

I felt for my friend of course, but he's a straight shooter and someone that would rebound from something like this fairly fast. He's your typical man's man. Upon hearing this he phoned the stranger that left the message and then proceeded to receive all the text messages that the girl he had been dating had sent to her ex-boyfriend.

She was exposed, it was the truth, and she was guilty. Not only was she guilty but she did it with very little class at all. This weekend his father had his retirement party and all the family flew in from out of town. It was a great time at the party, the dinner was fantastic, and seeing everyone together was heartwarming as everyone lives across the country or far apart. It was at these events with the family that this girl was sending the text messages to the other guy. It's one thing to have wanted out of the relationship, but to be pursuing another relationship, while in one, while at your current boyfriend's family moments is cold and lacks class.

It's understandable in the world we live in that when a relationship isn't going to work out, that it be best if things ended peacefully and both parties went there separate ways. But there are certain lines of respect that need to be adhered to, and this girl apparently felt it necessary to pursue her own agenda without any concern or care for her boyfriend or the importance of the events she was at to even wait until things were over to start searching for the next candidate to date.

The dating life nowadays is sketchy at best. Most people are in it for simple things like a quick good time or they aren't looking for serious commitment and would rather enjoy the single life. I don't want to give a top 10 list of things of what you can do to be a better girlfriend or boyfriend, but if you don't even respect the person you are with, or can't give them respect; what are you doing with them then?

I think the worst thing about dating in the millennium is that people don't seem to care at all if your feelings get hurt, just as long as they are happy that's all that is required. If you could take any advice today, really think hard about at least treating your partner with civility and respect, because it's one thing to be a disliked person or just an ex, it's another to do something like this and look like trash.

Proverbs 21:9

It's better to live on the corner of a roof, than with a contentious woman.