I haven’t written on this topic a lot because Jesus, that He
died on the cross in payment for my sins, that He was buried, that He conquered
death by raising from the grave, is the main issue!
For those who already believe Jesus died and rose for you
personally, have accepted Him as your Savior, I in no way wish you to feel I’m
adding the weight of
legalism. Christ died for your sins. No works are needed
to finish His saving grace in your life! Jesus is enough!!! Just like neither baptism
nor communion are requirements for salvation, rather God’s desired observances
for his people who already know and love Him, I absolutely do not feel head
covering to be a requirement for a Christian woman when it comes to the
soundness of her faith in Jesus Christ as her saving and forgiving God of
grace!
God is unchanging, but He is also gracious to allow us to
digest His Word in steps, His Spirit revealing Truth to us, convicting us
gently and gradually, not demanding transformation into the image of His Son in
a single moment, but patiently imprinting His will on yielded hearts. The
thoughts I am about to explore took me over 30 years of walking with Jesus to
even consider. I share them here ONLY for those interested in putting yourself
more deeply under the Lordship of our God. If those words don’t sound inviting,
please stop reading now. This article is not intended for you!
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| Dallas Theological Seminary professor |
Back in 2013 (about 2 years after
my strokes, thus the typos
and rambling thoughts) I wrote on
head
covering once before. (I spoke on angels and other issues specific to this
passage then.) I shared that my thoughts were still developing on the topic,
that I had been prayerfully considering and exploring the ramifications of
1
Corinthians 11: 3-16 for the Christian woman in my era and culture, for
about a year prior to my strokes (so for about 3 years at the time of that
article’s writing, about 6 ½ years now) and had recently become convinced to
follow this course of action, in large part because of my experiences directly
resulted from my strokes.
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This is not my picture but I think it is beautiful!
I found it floating around Facebook. Does anyone know who should receive credit?
|
Here’s where I now stand:
I believe that Christian women
[who] in the church
[where]
are called to cover
[what] for
prayer
and prophesy
[why]. This is true of
structured worship services, but also something that should be seriously
considered even when only two or three are casually or spontaneously gathered
together for the purpose of corporately entering God’s throne room.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=112010173492
is the start of a 3-part radio sermon series that offers sound teaching on the
subject, if you wish to explore more. If you are unsure you want to invest
three hours into examining these few verses, I would encourage you simple to
pray for God to teach you what He desires you to know on the topic, then
prayerfully listen to just the first 14 minutes of that first sermon. From
there you can decide if this in an area God would have you investigate further,
or not.
Having been raised in a
tradition where women were told head covering was not needed for today, that it
was cultural instruction for a specific time and place in early church history,
I would have had no interest in listing to sermons like this series, figuring
my hair took care of the matter!
There are so many excellent resources to the contrary, such as
the Head Covering Movement. I’m
so glad I asked God to show me if there was anything He wanted to reveal to me
about a subject I considered irrelevant to my life! I was beyond stunned that
there was anything He did want to teach me on a matter I felt totally
indifferent toward. The results of heeding His call in this area have been
dramatic, even life changing!
Personally, I
am [
was at the time of this article's publication] convicted to cover full time, any time I am
not under a roof provided by my husband (our home, a hotel room he has
purchased for us, etc.). I do NOT place this conviction on others, and will
continue to seek God’s direction for my life in future seasons. [Edited to explain
why I changed my view on frequency since I wrote this article.] Corporate
worship is the only issue the Bible seems to be addressing in head covering
[when], as far as I understand the
context of this passage. I think my full time drive to cover may (or may not)
come to a close with the publication of the book I’ve been writing through the
entire course of my head covering journey. (Speaking in representation of Jesus
is prophecy! I believe most forms of public ministry, such as public speaking on
topics related to the Bible, should be approached very prayerfully, and falls
under this same category of prophecy.)
I also cover in my own home for most personal prayer, again
a matter of personal conviction, not something I believe Scripture instructs
for all women at all times.
Practically speaking, it has become my habit to wear head
covering nearly every waking hour other than showers. Simply, it is easier for
me to fix my hair once in the morning and already have my covering in place
when I step out the door or sit down to worship the Lord. I take the action of preparing my head (and
heart!) at the start of a new day and this helps put me into a mindset of
thinking on Jesus throughout my day. Again, personal preference. Just sharing
how it works well for me.
Type of hair covering [how]
can become a hot topic. The Bible doesn’t get into much detail on this point.
We are told to do, and left with great freedom in how that instruction is implemented!
A couple of observations you might want to consider as you pray through God’s
specific plan for how you prepare your physical head when you enter His
presence are:
1.
A woman’s hair, given to her as A covering, is also referred to as her
glory. Since our purpose in prayer is to give glory to God, veiling our created
glory He’s given us, allows more focus to be on Him and His glory. (If our hair
were THE covering referenced in this
passage, how could we put it on, or how would a guy take his off each time he
entered a worship service?)
2.
With the veiled glory concept in mind, I don’t
think God objects to cute or stylish head coverings, but simple would want us
to be mindful of not detracting from Him, not trying to draw undo attention to
ourselves. He loves us. He created us. He created beauty. He gave us hair for
our glory. He isn’t trying to take anything from us, make us feel frumpy or
self-conscious! It often takes some practice, time to explore our options, but
if there’s a head-wear style that makes you feel beautiful but still focuses
eyes (our own as well as the eyes of those around us) on Christ, when we find
something we can wear with comfort and confidence in Jesus, that’s what we are
looking for.
3.
Along the same lines, in my first article, I
mentioned simply wearing a flower clip in my hair as a possible answer to head
covering. I would like to expound on this thought a bit and say that while the
emotional and spiritual struggles of beginning head covering can be intense, God
faithfully honors any and every effort we take towards obedience of His Word!
During my flower wearing months, it
mattered that I was striving to obey! I strove for consistency to the point
of folks noticing that I was never without something in my hair. (Sometimes I
explained why, other times I just silently thanked the Lord for the work He was
doing in my heart in this area, then went on with my day). I worked through a
lot of questions and fears by keeping doing what I was doing.
However, today I would not feel a flower clip in my hair to suffice as covering
for my head, a veiling of my God-given glory to ensure more focus on Jesus. My
advice is to focus on head over hair or “how much” hair is to be covered. Keep
seeking God’s direction for your life and He will guide you in every detail!
4.
I love simple, comfortable ball caps myself.
They offer a lot of coverage, are culturally quite normal, and are typically
no-fuss and non-attention-drawing. One consideration to be aware of is that the
etiquette required of a ball cap is the same for a man or a woman. If you are
at a ball park, a church or school, a parade, or any other occasion where our
national flag is honored by men needing to remove their hats, the same
requirement applies to women in ball caps. (Interesting that the removal of a
man’s hat was instructed in reverence to God clear back in the early church,
yet is still reflected in our culture regarding entering a building or honoring
our flag to this day!)
A woman’s “fashion hat” (clearly distinguishable from a traditional man’s hat
style such as a ball cap), a headband, or a scarf, is exempt from expected
removal. If you don’t mind taking your hat off for our flag, feel free to wear
one, just maybe think about the pros and cons of wearing it into a worship
setting if there’s a flag present.
5.
If God has unveiled (pun intended) to you the
truth that His instruction that Christian women covering our heads in prayer is
valid today, ask Him to guide you in exactly how that should be accomplished in
your personal circumstances.
I know missionary women who take on traditional Muslim attire in ministry and
God blesses them abundantly and strengthens their families and their faith. I also
know of women who take on Muslim headscarves in initial desire to fulfil this
instruction for Christian women to practice in worship of Jesus, but satan uses
that style embraced by another faith as a foothold to start leading these women
down a path of spiritual searching that ultimately results in denying Jesus and
pledging allegiance to another god.
My kids attend a heavily Muslim influenced school and my conviction to stay
covered was confirmed about the time they started there. It has been
interesting to watch how being consistently covered has gained the respect of
administration and fellow parents who do not offer the same credence to the opinions
of uncovered women. While I chose head covering, I intentionally chose styles
distinctly distinguishable from Muslim, so there is no question that my loyalty
to someone other than allah.
I avoid styles readily identified as “Muslim” (same would be true of other
faith practices with distinctive head covering styles) because I attempted a
certain head style commonly associated with another faith and, while I had no
personal issue with what I saw to be a freedom of expression, I learned my
choice was perceived as a “conversion” to another believe system and was a
stumbling block to a fellow Christian. That was the last time I tried that
specific style!
I know some women who will only wear a certain style of covering, perhaps a
certain shade of blue, specific length of veil, a special bonnet, or all white
or black. There is nothing wrong with any of those choices. In fact, submission
to local church leadership is to be applauded, so if your church instructs a
specific style, wonderful! The desire for head covering that doesn’t draw
attention away from the Lord is fantastic. (I am often the ONLY woman in my church
or other local circles who covers for Christ, so this has not been my issue.)
I would simply caution against legalism. Whatever covering you are wearing should
not become a source of piety, religious pride, a meaningless ritual, or
covering for the sake of covering tradition rather than as a reflection of a
heart seeking submission to God’s order of authority. Once the issue of
if to cover gets settled in my spirit,
my attitude behind the act of covering needs to be regularly taken before God
in order to assure that my motives stay glorifying to Him!
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