Headgear

“A man dishonours his head if he covers his head while praying or prophesying. But a woman dishonours her head if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head. Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair! But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering.”
1 Corinthians 11:4-6 NLT

Through the lens of 21st-century Britain, we’re on contentious ground, because today men and women have a different perspective from that prevalent in 1st-century Greece. Yesterday, we considered the importance of men honouring their head, Christ, by not wearing any form of headgear while they were praying or prophesying. However, wearing hats was quite commonplace when I was growing up, with no particular religious significance. Although hats of various shapes and styles were worn, they were always removed in the presence of anything considered religious, such as within a church building. This is something that has followed me even to this day, as it has with most men of my generation. And a hat was also “doffed” in the presence of a woman, as a matter of respect.

For women today, wearing any form of head covering, regardless of its style, is mainly considered a fashion statement. However, my mother’s generation always wore a hat or headscarf to church, and failure to do so was not acceptable.

In both situations, the unwritten rules regarding head coverings were followed in accordance with the verses we read in 1 Corinthians today. We should note that both men and women were allowed, and even expected, to pray and prophesy in a church meeting; however, there were particular rules that had to be applied. This was not a liturgical necessity, but connected to an important spiritual principle, that of respecting a man or woman’s “head”. In the case of men, this was Christ. In the case of women, this was a man, in accordance with 1 Corinthians 11:3, “But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God”.

In 1 Corinthians 11:5-6, Paul uses the word “dishonours”, as applying to a lack of respect, hiding away in a person’s heart, a lack of submission to our God-given order. The order is: God the Father, God the Son, the man or husband, and the woman or wife. The veil or covering on the head of a believing Corinthian wife showed that she was under the authority of her husband, and therefore under submission to God.

In 1 Corinthians 11:10, we read something about angels. “For this reason, and because the angels are watching, a woman should wear a covering on her head to show she is under authority”. The holy angels, who are in perfect and total submission to God, expect that we, as followers of Christ, be the same. I don’t believe it is just women who have been singled out here because I’m sure angels are watching men as well. So from these verses and others, we know that God sees what is in our hearts, and angels see the outward manifestations of our heart attitudes. Hebrews 12:1 reads, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us”. A sobering verse, I think we all agree.

However, in today’s society, with its more relaxed and permissive attitudes, these verses on the importance of head coverings remain relevant. If there is no outward show of hats, there must still be the inner attitude of submission, whether male or female. There was the story of the small boy whose teacher repeatedly told him to sit down. In the end, he complied but muttered under his breath, “I’m still standing up inside”. This is the sort of attitude that God sees as sinful when accompanying our prayers and prophesies, whether in church or without. Philippians 2:5 opens a door to the right attitude of submission to God – “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had”. There is no other way. We read on, “[Jesus] humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names” (Philippians 2:8-9). That is true submission to God and His order.

Dear Father God. We understand Your teaching on submission and pray for the grace to implement it in our lives. We confess our sins and pray for forgiveness, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

In the next few verses in 1 Corinthians 11, Paul continued his teaching about headship. To recap, 1 Corinthians 11:3 reads, “But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God”. The principle that everyone has a “head,” or someone to whom they are accountable, is fundamental to believers, and Paul wrote that men are accountable to Christ, who is their Head. So, how is this to be shown? In the Corinthian culture, there was much importance given to honour and shame, with a person’s behaviour significantly contributing to this. In our societies today, there is little that outwardly shows a man is a Christian. However, for those in leadership or a position of authority in some denominations, there is a dress code. For example, a minister or a priest can be distinguished by something we call a “dog collar”, a white band that goes under a shirt collar and covers up the top button. In a church service, individuals with a particular role can be seen wearing a cassock, a long, black or red-coloured garment. Senior members of the clergy also have a particular style of hat, which is worn in ceremonial circumstances. In the Church of Scotland, an elder can be seen wearing pin-striped trousers with a black jacket and tie, or, in previous years, wearing a suit with tails. But all of this applies in professional religious environments. In non-conformist churches and denominations, there is no such uniform, and leaders are indistinguishable from the laity.

So, in public, what is there to distinguish a man who is a Christian from the rest of society? There are certain dress codes that a male believer should not adopt, of course, and one of them is the modern tendency for some men to dress as women. In recent years, much has been made in some Christian circles for men to be men, standing up and portraying the role that God has given them. But Paul particularly addressed the situation in a church service, when a man should display his reverence for his Head, Jesus, by not covering his own head. This level of strictness has been abandoned in some contexts, with baseball caps appearing in worship bands, etc., but this probably displays a lack of teaching rather than a deliberate attempt to dishonour Christ.

Another thing worthy of note is that men had the opportunity to pray and prophesy. Paul wrote, “A man dishonours his head if he covers his head while praying or prophesying”. For us men, our head is Christ, and we must have an attitude that is befitting and honouring to Him. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to” (Philippians 2:5-6). Sadly, today, the attitude of humility before God can be hard to find. Often, there is a matey-ness present in our relationship with God, regarding Him almost as an equal, a friend, but without an attitude of awe and a holy fear.

It may be a time for us men to do a spiritual check-up, and consider how we honour Jesus with all that we are, our minds, our bodies and our souls. Psalm 96:8-9, “Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendour. Let all the earth tremble before him”. In that context, we should never bother to cover our heads. They would not be seen because we would be on our knees, our heads bowed, worshipping Jesus.

Dear Lord Jesus, our Head in the Godhead. Please forgive us for our lack of reverence, we pray, and instead we worship at Your footstool today. Amen.

Head Covering (2)

Head Covering (1)