Hair, the Long and Short of It

1 Corinthians 11
But if a woman have long hair it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
1Corinthians 11:15


LET IT GLOW

I'm not the kind of female who spends hours fixing my hair. I never have been. On the other hand, I don't like it to be disorderly either. During the summer, I would "wash and wear", so to speak, pulling my hair up in a clip, letting it dry naturally. Thus it grew long. However, now that winter is here, long hair meant spending 20 minutes blow drying it. I didn' like doing that three times a week, though my schedule is flexable.
I decided to have my hair cut, medium length, and styled. It certainly is not short, exposing my ears. I want to look feminine, not like a male. (Hubby does approve of this.)

Background on the culture in Corinth:

Jerry Falwell said, in Liberty Bible Commentary:

In Corinth, it was not uncommon for prostitutes to shave their heads and don blonde wigs, thus signifying their availability to the men in the streets. Just as no respectable Christian woman would go out in public dressed as a prostitute, it is equally important that she not participate in public worship without proper dress.


So why did Paul address the issue of women and long hair? Having researched this chapter, here's what I found:

Shepherd's Notes  states:

The Jewish custom for all women was to show modesty and virtue by covering their heads with a veil when they went outside their homes. The veiling of a woman's head was not a new concept for the Corinthians. In Jewish synagogues it was required, and in Greek sanctuaries woemn were also to be veiled. It is likely that the women in the Corinthian congregation were simply reflecting the more daring styles of the day.
The principle here is that Christians must be sensitive to the cultures in which they live and not needlessly flout local customs unless there is some moral reason to do so.


In verse 3, Paul gives the order of authority: God, Christ, man, woman.
Paul points out some notable statements concerning women/wives:

• Man is the head of the woman. (verse 3) (The wife submits to her husbands authority as head of the family, to his decisions.)
• She dishonors her head, the husband, if the wife prays or prophesies (worship) uncovered. (verse 5)
• She was created from man, from Adam's rib. (verse 8)
• She is the glory of man, gives him honor. (verse 7)
• She was created as a help meet for her husband. (verse 9 refers to Genesis 2:18)
• Her long hair is her glory and her covering. (verse 15)

Falwell said, "Paul is talking about differentiating between the sexes. (verses 13-15) In the natural order of things, it only seems appropriate to cover a woman's head and here her ultimate covering is her hair The Scripture does not dictated "spirituality" by the length of one's hair. The real issue here is submission to divine authority. Therefore, every aspect of the believer's life should reflect his obedience and submission to the Lord Jesus Christ and divinely established authority."


Paul talks about how to appear in public worship-men with uncovered heads and women with covered heads.Although Paul emphasized Christian freedom meaning they no longer had to observe the old Jewish customs, but did it include women no longer had to wear a veil during worship?
To sum it up, Paul says the woman's hair is given her for a covering, veil. (verse 15) There we have it ladies.
We don't need to wear a veil, hat, or scarf, when we wear our hair long as a covering during worship.

Of course, the question then is, "How long is long?"  Paul doesn't signify that. What's important is that people can distinguish us as a woman, not a man. To me, my hair is long enough if it acts as a veil whenever I pray, bowing my head.
This can be a controversial subject, I realize. Our society is different from that of the Corinthians. So maybe each of us need to seek the Lord and how to please Him concerning this matter.

LET IT GROW

Verse 31 states,"For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged."

Isn't that the truth? I tend to think I'm okay, acceptable, so I don't need to be judged. When in fact, I sin daily and am in need of repentance and forgiveness. But I do need self-examination. Christ and his Word are my standards for me to use as my comparison, of which I fall short every time.


LET IT GO

As a wife, honor my husband and the Lord Jesus by submitting to them.

Do a spiritual exam daily.