A wife has a whole list of qualities that she should strive for as they are listed in Proverbs 31. A man has only one thing that he must do in order to be a good husband but his job is far more impossible than the one expected of a good wife.
Ephesians 5 gives us instructions on how a marriage should properly work. Ephesians 5:25 says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”
The love of Christ is self sacrificial. It gives up a person’s own will for the good of another. We may be capable of doing this for short periods of time, occasionally doing what someone else wants, but we aren’t capable of doing it all of the time.
For a husband to love his wife the way Christ loves the church, he must protect her physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He must protect her even at the expense of his own well being.
The love of Christ gives us a vague notion of being an immense love, but we must remember that Christ died for the church. A husband should love his wife enough to give up his life for her. This could be literal but in practice it means that he doesn’t hang out with his friends as much any more. It could mean that he cuts back on his personal spending in order to afford raising a family.
A woman should look for a husband who is willing to give up his old life in order to start a new one in love with her. This is the greatest quality that a woman should look for in a husband.