If you’re ready for “the one”, avoid
these three mistakes when dating:

1. Type:
We settle when it comes to the type we
want. We lower our standards in an attempt
to make them who we want them to be
instead of seeing them for who they really
are. We say we want a Godly man, but as
soon as that “fine” brotha who is not living according to God’s word comes along,
suddenly a Godly man is not all that
important. We say we want someone who
will respect our “No sex before marriage”
rule, but as soon as that “fine” brotha who
can’t keep his hands to himself comes along, suddenly Celibacy is not all that
important. Another thing to understand is that yes,
every relationship will have it’s ups and
downs. I understand there’s no such thing
as a perfect relationship. However, we
sometimes get a little too comfortable with
the downs outweighing the ups. Dating is a precursor for marriage. So in other words,
what you see… is what you get. The
problems you get comfortable with dealing
with in a dating relationship, will be the same
problems you will deal with in your
marriage. We should never marry potential, Always marry reality. Take for example, when we buy a used car,
some times they are sold “AS IS”. This
means that we are agreeing to accept
anything that may be wrong with it. You
assume full responsibility. Some defects may
be visible, some you may not be able to see right away. The same applies in a dating relationship. We
sometimes know exactly what we’re
getting ourselves into. This person is
showing you who they are up front, but
you’re so blinded by who you want them to
be. So ask yourself “Can I see myself married
to this person, “AS IS”?”

2. Time:
We don’t invest the time to really get to
know the person. Notice I just pointed out
that “what you see… is what you get”.
Sometimes this isn’t the case. The person
we thought we knew turns out to be
someone completely different and I don’t mean that in a good way. In the beginning of
any relationship , this is when we try to
impress one another. We want to show this
person how we are so different and better
than anyone he/she has ever dated. Why we
are worthy of being with. Why they should love us over everyone else. However, IF we
spend a little more time getting to really
know a person AND praying for God’s will,
eventually their true colors will show. But
you can’t pray for God to reveal these
things to you and then dismiss them when He shows you they are not the one for you. When you go to the airport, you can’t
arrive at the airport 15 minutes before the
plane takes off right? Why is that? Because
they have to check you out. They’re going
to make sure you’re exactly who you say
you are by checking your I.D. They’re going to check your baggage and even do a
full body check to make sure you’re not
hiding anything. They do all of this before
you get on the plane because they know that
once you get on the plane, you can possibly
bring them down if they don’t take the time to check you out. Look at your relationship in the same way.
You have to make sure you check them out to
make sure they’re exactly who they say
they are. You have to check what kind of
baggage they’re bringing into your
relationship. Again… dating is a precursor for marriage so we should use this time wisely
to get to know them. If we find that they are
not who they say they are, we have the
option of getting out of the relationship
instead of going into a marriage thinking
marriage will solve our issues.

3. Truth:
We are not truthful with ourselves when it
comes to our expectations. Often times, when
dating, we have this long list of things we
want the other person to be. There’s
nothing wrong with having a type or having
standards as I’ve said before, but before you crucify or dismiss someone else, make
sure you are the type of person you would
like to attract. Ask yourself… “Am I being
the type of person I expect my mate to be?”
You want a Godly man, but are you a Godly
woman? You want someone who can bring something to the table, but what are you
willing to bring to the table? I always say,
marriage is not 50/50. It’s each person
giving their 100%. Never expect to receive
what you are not willing to give (respect,
honesty, love etc. ) and never make your happiness someone else’s responsibility.
It’s good to take the time to make sure
you’re with the right person, but don’t
forget to take the time out to make sure you
are being the right person for them, for
yourself, and most importantly, for God!

source: www.theprayingwoman.com/2015/02/18/3-biggest-mistakes-christians-make-when-dating/