Posted in Spiritual Revelations from Our Awesome God

Is the headcovering mentioned by Paul in I Cor 11 for today? Or was it a "cultural" thing for Paul's time only? I believe it is for all-time. I'd like to write more on this, but I'll just briefly go into this tonight before I tuck my little ones in bed.

I've been wearing a headcovering for several months, more often than not. I felt drawn to do it, but really wasn't convinced that it was necessary. When the Lord challenged me with the question, "What's your source?" while I was recovering in the hospital, this was one of the things that I felt convicted about. Why was I wearing a headcovering? I wasn't sure. So I stopped wearing one for a few weeks.

The other morning I woke up thinking about it. As I lay in bed, I prayed, "Lord, what should I do about this? I don't know if I should wear a headcovering or not." The Lord spoke to my heart to read the scriptures "afresh," as if I was reading them for the first time. I read I Cor 11 again and this is what I understand it to say:

Woman was created for the man. She is the glory of man. Therefore she is to have a symbol of authority on her head. It is not her hair. Her hair is her glory. Human nature teaches us this. A woman's long hair is sensuous and beautiful. Human nature also teaches us that it is shameful for a woman to have her head bald. Therefore, she should wear a covering, like a veil, upon her head to cover her glory (her hair) and man's glory (herself) in the presence of God and the angels (when praying or prophesying). Since the Bible also teaches us to "pray without ceasing" (I Thess 5:17), I believe the headcovering is to be worn all day. Indeed, we often stop throughout our day to pray for a need that comes to our attention, to pray over our meals, to pray for a skinned knee or a bellyache, etc.

Prophecying doesn't happen daily around here, but when it does happen (which is another topic I'd like to write about in the future) it is unpredictable. How are we to know when the Lord is going to give a Word? I don't think Paul intended a woman to have a headcovering "on the ready" just in case a Word comes to mind, then hurry up and put it on before she opens her mouth to speak.

In addition, the second half of this chapter speaks of communion and is oft quoted and applied in our modern churches. I haven't heard this portion written off as cultural, for Paul's time only. How can we divide a chapter in half and follow one part and not the other? I fear that many Christians are confused. They've been taught to reason away the teachings and commandments of the Bible that are uncomfortable.

Lord, help us not to be proud, legalistic, or judgemental like the Pharisees; rather, give us the boldness to be humbly obedient to your word. Amen.