Imagine this scenario: Heather has been seeing Mike for only two months, but she feels as if she’s known him forever. They text each other constantly, they talk for hours at a time on the phone, and they can even finish each other’s sentences! But now Mike wants more than conversation.

During the past two months, Mike and Heather have done nothing more than hold hands and briefly kiss. Heather doesn’t want to go further. But she doesn’t want to lose Mike either. No one makes her feel so beautiful, so special. ‘Besides,’ she tells herself, ‘Mike and I are in love . . .’

If you are old enough to date and you were in Heather’s situation, what would you do next?

If you defy a physical law, such as the law of gravity, you will suffer the consequences. The same is true if you defy a moral law, such as the one that states: “Abstain from sexual immorality.”​—1 Thessalonians 4:3.

What are the consequences of disobeying that command? The Bible says: “Whoever practices sexual immorality is sinning against his own body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18) How is that true?

 Researchers have found that many youths who have had premarital sex usually experience one or more of the following consequences.

• DISTRESS. Most youths who have engaged in premarital sex say that they regretted it afterward.

• DISTRUST. After having sex, each partner begins to wonder, ‘Who else has he/​she had sex with?’

• DISILLUSIONMENT. Deep down, many girls would prefer someone who will protect them, not take advantage of them. And many boys find that they are less attracted to a girl who has given in to their advances.

• The bottom line: If you give in to premarital sex, you degrade yourself by forfeiting something precious. (Romans 1:24) Your body is far too valuable to give away!

Show that you have the strength of character to “abstain from sexual immorality.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3) Then, if you do marry one day, you can have sex. And you’ll be able to enjoy it fully, without the worries, regrets, and insecurities that are so often part of the aftermath of premarital sex.​—Proverbs 7:22, 23; 1 Corinthians 7:3.

• Would anyone who truly loves you endanger your physical and emotional well-being?

• Would anyone who truly cares for you tempt you to jeopardize your relationship with God?​—Hebrews 13:4.