“Wait! Wait!”
My college roommate startled me with his shout. It was Saturday morning and I had just awakened and was about to put on my socks. “Walk across the room again,” he instructed me.
“What?” I stopped in the middle of the floor.
“No, no! Keep walking!”
I was utterly confused but obliged my roommate’s request.
“Good…good! Very nice.”
“What is?”
My roommate stood up from his chair and kneeled close to the ground, next to my feet. “You have nice feet!”
“Excuse me?” I thought he was setting me up.
“You have a nice arch,” he said, pointing to my sole. “Here, look at this!” He took off the sock on one of his feet. “I happen to think I have very nice feet! See!” He traced the arch of his foot with his finger. He looked up smugly and said, “The woman I marry must have perfect feet!”
I don’t know what happened to my roommate, whether he ever found his perfect mate with perfect feet. I am confident that he was quite adamant about finding such a woman. If only life could be so simple!
There is nothing wrong with being attracted to physical attributes in a spouse. Some of the most beautiful and poetic verses in the Bible extol the physical beauty in a spouse.
How beautiful you are, my darling. How very beautiful! Behind your veil, your eyes are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead.
Song of Solomon 4:1 (CSB)
There are many interpretations of the entire Song of Solomon. Some Bible scholars state that it honors the physical love between a man and wife. Others state it is a metaphor and symbolizes the love that Jesus Christ has for His Church. All would agree that beauty is a gift from God and we should not be reticent to celebrate it in our spouse. However, it should never be the overriding reason why we choose our spouse.
Don’t let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewelry or fine clothes, but rather what is inside the heart —the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
1 Peter 3:3-4 (CSB)
In this Bible verse, the Apostle Peter gives us practical godly advice for the qualities we should be seeking in our spouse. While we celebrate outward beauty, this will eventually fade. The imperishable qualities of a gentle and quiet spirit are what we should be desiring and when we do, God honors our relationship.
Perhaps someday I will be reunited with my former college roommate and I will learn if he married a woman with perfect feet. Meanwhile, I am thankful that God blessed me with a wife whose inner beauty far surpasses her outer beauty.
And by the way, my wife does have very nice feet!
Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.
The Bereans Blog 