5 Benefits of Not Flirting

“I can’t stand to be around her,” My sister told me.

“Why?” I asked.

She clenched her hands, “Because she’s so…so… FLIRTY! It’s awkward every time a guy is there! It’s disgusting! I just don’t want to be around her.”

Have you ever felt this way?

When I was around eleven, I decided I would not flirt with anyone I wasn’t in a relationship with. If you want to know my reasons, see my recent Part 1 and Part 2 on why I decided not to flirt.

That’s what I did—I didn’t flirt. 

Have I regretted this choice? Absolutely not! Here are the ways that I benefited from that decision and why I recommend you make the same commitment. 
1. People treat me with respect and take me seriously.

2. I don’t view the guys around me as objects to be played with.

I see that they’re people with feelings, weaknesses, strengths, desires, etc. They don’t want their heart broken any more than I do.

When I stopped viewing guys as potential husbands, I started seeing them as real people whose sole purpose is not to make me happy but to glorify God.

3. I have deeper, closer relationships with the girls around me than I ever would have had I been a flirt.

When you flirt with guys, you make the girls around you competition. They won’t like it and you won’t be able to have a strong relationship with them. Especially if you’re flirting with her crush!

4. I know now that God created me to be satisfied in Him and He is the only One who can satisfy me.

Flirting is a tool to get us what we girls desire most right now—attention, affirmation, and affection. When we use flirting to get these things from guys, we are ignoring the One who promises to fulfill us. We also are chasing after a cheap cop-out of what God designed for us—true, lasting fulfillment in Christ. If we teach ourselves now to be satisfied in a guy, we will take that attitude with us into a relationship and into marriage. 
*Spoiler Alert!* Guys can’t satisfy you.

  5. My friendships with the guys around me are deeper and truer than if I’d been a flirt.

The flirty guys run off to find the flirty girls, and so I’ve been extremely blessed by the godly guys who hang around me instead of the flirty girls. Let me tell you: an honest friendship with a godly guy is something very valuable and definitely not something to be taken lightly.

6. Morning Glory. I can almost guarantee that I would never have started Morning Glory if I had been consumed with getting guy attention.

Why did I even start Morning Glory in the first place? Because I had grown so much in the years where I did not have guy attention. No attention forced me to go to God for my needs. As a result, I learned so much about Him and about life.

Ladies, God is far more satisfying than a few seconds of a cute guy’s attention.

I hope you will consider these things as you go throughout your teen years. What is the most important thing to you right now: honoring God or getting attention?

What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you agree or disagree? If you have decided not to flirt and have seen benefits, what have those benefits been? Share in the comments!