Catfished Relationships

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Relationships started on a lie are a lie.

We watch on TV where people pretend to be someone else in order to “win” a person over. Doing insane things they don’t like all for the sake of being who the other person wants them to be. But here is the problem with that: lies built on lies are like the foolish man in Matthew 7:24-27 who built his house on sand only to watch it be swept away. His foundation was non-existent because he thought knowing the truth was good enough. He never put Jesus in practice. The foundation was all wrong.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Having a life that is Complete in Christ is one built on solid ground. Being catfished is not something MTV discovered about humans. Catfished is when a person lures another person into a relationship based on false pretense.  In Genesis 27, Jacob, prodded by Rebekah, “catfished” Esau to fall for one of the biggest switch-a-roos found in scripture. Esau’s stolen blessing is no different than the online profile that shows only a close-up face view and loosely describes the left out parts.

Living a fake life is an easy trap to fall into. One can have a work persona and and act totally  different during life outside the office. Do you know someone that has different lives and different dating styles depending on who the person is looking to “catch”? Dual lives may seem to work for a short period of time, but over the long haul cracks will begin to show. The charade of faces becomes too hard to maintain and eventually the true person, not the one portrayed to others, is revealed.

Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.”

1 Peter 2:12

 

When a person has many lives, they are inconsistent and their walk with the Lord suffers. As Believers, others should be able to find no fault in you because of your honorable and consistent behavior. Catfishing another person only leads to disaster.

Be you. All the time. Never catfish again.

Single Struggles: Is Online Dating for Christians?

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Online dating is a tricky subject. Everyone knows someone who has found the love of their life online, and they are happily married with kids. This creates the idea that online dating is perfect in every way. At the same time, everyone is terrified of the person who lies about everything online in order to get a date. This goes along with the idea that those searching online must be at the “bottom of the barrel” in the dating world.

Table for One does not believe either of these extremes are true, though both sides make valid arguments.  We take the stance that when you are dating online recognize that the website you choose is not as committed to finding your soul-mate, but finding your wallet; not committed to your love, but to your wallet.  Online dating is BIG business and highly profitable with little overhead for most sites. That is why there is a dating site for almost every city in America and every country in the world. Advertisers lure visitors to buy their product and money is made.

So when do you make the jump and try online dating? Online dating sites are most useful as a method for making initial contact, not to develop a deep relationship. Only online date if your intention is to physically meet someone within a few digital communications. Choose public areas to meet and be realistic that some dates will be good and some will be bad. It takes time and interaction to get to know the person you want to spend the rest of your life with.

What do you think? Do you date online?  What is your opinion of online dating? Respond below!