Remember this in choosing a husband or wife, if you are unmarried. It is not enough that your eye is pleased, that your tastes are met, that your mind finds congeniality, that there is amiability and affection, that there is a comfortable home for life. There needs something more than this. There is a life yet to come. Think of your soul, your immortal soul. Will it be helped upwards or dragged downwards by the union you are planning? Will it be made more heavenly or more earthly, drawn nearer to Christ or to the world? Will its religion grow in vigor, or will it decay? I pray you, by all your hopes of glory, allow this to enter into your calculations. “Think,” as old Baxter said, and “think, and think again,” before you commit yourself. “Be not unequally yoked” (2 Cor. 6:14). Matrimony is nowhere named among the means of conversion.

~ J. C. Ryle, Holiness

Question: Why do you think it is important to consider Ryle’s advice here in choosing a husband or a wife?

You might also want to check this out:

• Singles in Christ, Singles for Christ (pastorderick.com)
• Follow J.C. Ryle on Twitter and Facebook (jcrylequotes.com)
• Unequal Yoke (mysinglemomlife.wordpress.com)