Do Looks Matter?

"I don't care what she'll look like," the young man declared about his yet-unknown future bride. "I'll love her for who she is inside." Everyone in the small gathering of young people looked at him with distinctly unconvinced expressions. But this was a church gathering, and we all knew he was saying the spiritual thing. Such piety simply couldn't be challenged. That is, until one guy ventured what was to him a sincere question: "Yeah, but don't you want her to be hot?" 

As if something appalling had been said, we collectively turned to the youth minister, who had been quietly backing away from the conversation. With an uneasy smile, he said, "Well, you can make a pretty girl spiritual, but you can't make a spiritual girl pretty."

Everyone sensed the sarcasm in his maxim, but it didn't bring much resolution to the dilemma. Do looks matter? This question comes up a lot in my current ministry, too, usually in the form of a single friend feeling guilty for not being attracted to an otherwise worthy romantic candidate. I usually tell friends they shouldn't feel guilty for not being attracted to someone---but they shouldn't think the matter is necessarily settled, either.  Keep Reading...