Simply participating in online dating for fun or out of desperation is not a legitimate reason to date someone. Online dating sites are well-known for bringing people together based on personality, religion, and preferences. Many believe that this helps narrow down options and increases the chances of relationship success. While online dating isn't a sin, there are many dangers to it for Christian singles.
Social networks are very tempting to misuse because it's so easy to present ourselves however we want. We can take the perfect photo, craft our sentences correctly, and reveal only the most flattering information about ourselves. God doesn't feel anything negative about online dating, and the Bible doesn't condemn it either. God remains sovereign over your relational life no matter what course you take to meet your spouse.
Even if you try online dating, it's not that you need to trust God any less than you would if you were trying traditional dating. My wife was matched with me the day after joining eHarmony, so she spent less than a month as a member of the online dating community. I spent a year and a half experiencing overwhelming online dating defeats before I met my wife. During that time, I was frustrated by my own unrealistic expectations and didn't live up to others' unrealistic expectations either.
Many people in their mid-twenties try online dating to meet the perfect person they haven't met in real life yet. The temptation to peruse online profiles for hours in search of a soul mate is real. It may seem like a waste of time if you date someone and then break up; but if by dating this person you learned that he or she is not your future spouse, then you didn't waste your time. In short, if what you've been doing isn't working and you want to find a Christian spouse, give online dating a try.
Wasting your time on dates only happens when you continue to date someone even after knowing for sure that you are not going to marry him or her. You probably won't meet your future husband or wife on the first date or two when you start online dating. But as long as you're relying on biblical wisdom, listening to the advice of your Christian community, and trying truly to honor God, there's nothing inherently sinful about online dating. If you're a little older but still have plenty of great dating options because of your church, your community, or your very “reflective” friends, then you probably don't need to date online.
The Bible doesn't speak directly about online dating, but its wisdom can certainly help us answer many of the common questions Christian singles have when considering it.
