You might answer, “I’m not looking for a man!” But let’s be honest about this. Of course you are looking for a man, and there is not one thing wrong with that. The wrong would be for you to flat out deny it. Now I don’t think it is godly or healthy or wise to be obsessed with watching out for the right man to show up. But it is only natural for a woman who wants to be married to have her eyes open. The important thing is to know what kind of man you are looking for and to keep from being tricked into thinking you have found him when you haven’t.

Because of loneliness women are tempted to respond to the wrong kind of man. And as I have said before, there is one thing worse than being unmarried (actually there are lots of things), and that is being married to the wrong man. I have talked with many miserable married women over the years, and I sometimes ask them, “Why did you marry him?” Sometimes they saw him as a ticket out of their hard circumstances, but in reality he was a ticket to newer and harder circumstances. Marrying someone for the wrong reason will never lead to long-term happiness.

We have all heard funny descriptions of the ideal Christian man. One of my favorites is “tall, dark, rich, and reformed. Ah, you think, if only there were enough of that kind to go around! But the truth is, most women are not really that fussy. I have heard a woman complain about some of the Christian men in the community, but then when one of those same men showed an interest in her, she suddenly did not care about those things she had so freely criticized before. Still, though height or hair line may not be important, spiritual qualities are not to be overlooked for the sake of a relationship.

For starters, a Christian woman should marry a Christian man. That seems simple enough, but sometimes a woman can rationalize on this point. “Well, he goes to church sometimes.” That is not enough to determine if he is a man of faith. “He was brought up Roman Catholic, but I’m not sure if he still is a practicing Catholic.” A Protestant woman should not consider marrying a Catholic. “He is really nice, so I think he must be a Christian.” That is certainly not enough evidence. “He was baptized as an infant, so he must be a Christian.” Yes, but what kind of Christian? The kind who goes to hell? Marriage is much too important a connection to make with someone who has a different or nonexistent faith. Do not be swayed by a fun personality to overlook a man’s spiritual state. God has made it clear in His Word that we are not to be unequally yoked.

So once you have determined that he is of the same faith, you have to consider what kind of a Christian he is. Does he read his Bible? Does he do what it says? Is he a faithful church member? Does he tithe? Is he growing? Do you see him sharing his faith? Is he involved in the life of the congregation? Some men will play the part to get themselves a Christian wife, so you want to know that his faith is genuine. Not every man is called to be a leader in the church; but every husband is called to be a leader in his home. Can you see yourself being led by him? The Bible requires wives to submit to their own husbands, so a woman ought to marry a man that she respects enough to freely submit to. If he is the kind of man who is eager to please and obey God, she should not have trouble following him.

The Bible also requires wives to respect and honor their husbands. So it follows that a woman should marry a man that she can easily look up to. Respect and honor are far more easily rendered to a respectable, honorable man. This is something a woman should know about a man before she allows herself to fall in love with him. If she is emotionally attached, she is in real danger of rationalizing these things away. But once she is married to him, there will be no excuses for disrespect.

Because of the wonderful way God made the world, what one woman respects in a man, another may not. In other words, some women can be led by men who in no way could lead someone else. A woman with a strong personality will need a man with a lot of horsepower to lead her. She doesn’t want to marry a man whom she will always have to be leading herself. Though she may not mind at first, it will get old really quickly. If she is a hard charger, she needs to marry someone who is more of one. A woman is called to follow, support, and help a man, and that is difficult to do if a wife is miles ahead hollering, “Come on, you can catch up!” This applies to strength of personality, spiritual zeal, intellectual gifts, and initiative. Though a man may wish his wife had more of these things so she could keep up with him, it is far worse to have a wife who is way ahead of her husband.

Dating services have questionnaires that deal with all kinds of aspects of personality and gifts. Though much of this is valuable, we have to be careful not to view the way a man and woman come together as some sort of formula. Obviously they should share similar tastes, likes, and dislikes when it comes to cultural preferences. But complementing someone is not necessarily being identical in every way. A woman should know which things are non-negotiable and which things are indifferent to her. For example, if she is not a camper, but she wouldn’t mind becoming a camper, then that falls in the indifferent category. But if she must live by the ocean, and he is planning to live in the Mid West, then that is non-negotiable. But sometimes a woman thinks he is so wonderful that she will gladly give up living by the ocean. What was nonnegotiable becomes indifferent. These things will vary from person to person, and a woman should have these things sorted out in her mind before she agrees to marry someone. Other important things should be considered. How does he treat his mother? How does he treat his other family members? Does he like children? How does he handle money? Is he a hard worker? Is he self-disciplined? Does he live for others? Does he have a temper? What about personal habits? Is he a slob? What about his sexual history? Does he use pornography? Does he have high (meaning godly) standards for entertainment? Is he quick to seek forgiveness ? Is he a scoff law? Has he served jail time? Is he divorced? What were the circumstances? I have seen women overlook serious faults in a men because they are too eager for a relationship. Though it may work out for a short time, in the long-term there is misery and remorse.

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