- KEEP IT REAL: One of the great temptations of online personal ads is to embellish the truth about you. Don’t flub on your age, height, weight, etc. If you lie, it will be found out by your date anyway, and dishonesty is an absolute deal-breaker. Therefore,
each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his
neighbor, for we are all members of one body. Eph 4:25
- KEEP IT LIGHT: In the beginning, keep it light and friendly. Online
messages are NOT an appropriate place for providing your entire life
story or unloading about your past hurts and current emotional state of
being. For now, just give that to God. You’re dialoguing with a potential mate, not Dear Abby.
- KEEP IT SHORT: Also, keep it short and simple. No
one wants to read a ten page opening email. We are all so inundated
with email nowadays, that anytime we see one that requires we scroll
down the page, it often gets deleted.
- KEEP IT FOCUSED: Don’t send out generic sounding messages or mass emails (i.e. SPAM). Try
to pick out specific points from the person’s profile and write an
interesting, quirky message including those tidbits. If you’re
dialoguing with multiple people, write original messages to each person.
- KEEP IT SANE: Don't bombard your potential online mate with message after message. It is annoying and stalker-like behavior. If they haven’t responded, move on. Desperation leads to isolation. Live in harmony with one another. Rom 12:16
- KEEP IT COURTEOUS:
As a courtesy, you should respond to everyone who writes to you, even
if you are not interested. Come up with a standard response like;
"Thanks for writing. After reviewing your profile, I don't believe
we're a good match. Thanks, and God bless you." It’s just nice and you
would want others to give you the same respect. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Rom 12:10
- KEEP IT PRIVATE: Don't pass on or ask for contact numbers or addresses in the first few messages. Protect your privacy and respect theirs. …be therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. MT. 10:16b
- KEEP IT CURRENT: A beautiful, clear photo is not just part of the ad, it’s everything. If
you post a bad photo (as in dark, blurry, taken in your bedroom mirror
on your cell, etc) on your profile, you will be disappointed by the
lack of response.
- KEEP IT HOLY: No overly sexy or cleavage-heavy photos, which will attract the wrong kind of customer. Yes, even on Christian dating sites. …make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. Rom 14:13
- KEEP IT LOOSE: Don’t post a strict laundry list of rules and traits that you need your potential mate to follow/have. Remain open-minded, flexible and fun towards others and you won’t turn people off. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. Rom 15:7
- KEEP IT HUMBLE: Don’t seem self-absorbed! Focus on what you bring to the table in addition to what you expect from potential mates.
- KEEP IT BUBBLY: Be upbeat and interesting in your responses. Ask a few specific questions that require more than a simple yes or no response to stimulate further conversation. Nobody likes a boring stick in the mud.
- KEEP IT INTEGRAL: Yes, ladies want to be taken care of. But,
don’t catalog your grocery list of financial obligations in a mate, or
you may come across as a shallow gold-digger. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well. Mt 6:33
- KEEP IT DISCREET: God wants us to be fruitful and multiply. But,
even if your number one priority in life is to become a parent, it’s
probably a good idea to save any talk about having children until
later. The fastest way to an empty inbox is to start discussing those
five kids you want to start having yesterday.
- KEEP IT EDUCATED: And, remember kids: spell-check is free.
And last but not least BE SMART! IF
someone asks you for money, whether it’s to help a sick relative, pay
for a plane ticket because they’ve been abandoned in a foreign country,
or help them get money released from an inheritance - CHANCES are it’s
a scam.
