Thought for the Day

To be worthy of a good wife, one must be a good man. If one is seeking the Lord with all his heart and desires to have a mate with whom he may serve the Lord together, God will guide him to the right person. Today, many people are marrying with the wrong motives. Christians ought to have three criteria in considering a mate. They should make sure that the person is: (1) committed to Christ (2) demonstrates good character, and (3) shares the same vision for serving God.

The most important decision that we make in life is whether to follow Jesus. The second is whether to marry. If you desire to be married, then you need not be anxious or lonely if you commit to follow Christ daily. God will direct your path and prepare you for marriage. While men or women are single it is a wonderful time for them to prepare for marriage. As they seek to know God better and allow Him to help them become the kind of husband or wife who would bless someone, they will soon find they are not lonely.

Satan will try to mislead us regarding this second-most important decision. One of the easiest ways for him to deceive us is by playing on our emotions. At times, we can all be susceptible to developing "feelings" for the wrong person. We can guard against this by committing ourselves to God and His will for every part of our lives, including marriage. God knows what is best for us and there are worse things than being alone. One of these is being married to the wrong person. We can be out of God's will by compromising and marrying someone who does not feel the same way we do toward the Lord. We find Satan misleading God's men throughout the Bible. Solomon's heathen wives led him into idolatry; Samson's eyes were put out because of the woman Delilah; and David committed murder because of passion for Bathsheba.

Though emotion and passion are a wonderful part of love, they cannot be the foundation for a good marriage. Good character and commitment to God strengthen a marriage, while selfishness, jealousy, laziness, and so forth, affect it adversely. A good woman's worth is far above rubies! If you want to marry, seek God diligently that you may find a good wife or husband – and ask God to prepare you to be a good mate.