Friday, July 31, 2009

Headcovering & Submission

There ya go...caught your attention with that one, eh??

It's just that during our Bible study tonight, we were reading through I Corinthians 11. We were discussing wives being the glory of their husbands (& husbands being the image and glory of God). I needed to do some study on the word "glory" - I was a bit confused.

Anyway, in discussing this topic later with my dh, we talked about how I Cor. 11 is also the chapter talking about the Lord's Supper. So many people tend to simply "throw out" the verses about submission and headcovering and long hair/short hair....yet they really value the following verses about the Lord's Supper. How can people pick and choose like that?? Who gets to decide?


Our discussion then led us to talk about WHO Paul was writing to (church in Corinth) and WHY he was discussing headcovering (haughty women who were not submitting, respecting and honoring their husbands).

So in THAT SOCIETY, in that day-n-age, to put on a headcovering was a symbol of a woman's submission to her husband. An outward sign of her respect for him, for his position. In that time, long hair on a man was a disgrace. Short hair on a woman was a disgrace. Yet not so in today's society.

*****At this point, many people look at these verse and say, "Well, that was for then - it's not for us today", and that's the end of it. They essentially SKIP OVER those verses and head on into the Lord's Supper without giving the first part of chapter 11 another thought.


WHOA!!! Hold on a minute. Back up, people.


Yes, headcoverings and the lengths of people's hair was the outward symbol used BACK THEN to show honor, respect and submission. Since that no longer really applies to today - instead of throwing the verses away - let's find out HOW THIS TRANSLATES to today, to us here and now.

What can *I* do, as a Christian wife in the year 2009, to show submission to my husband? How can I respect and honor him? How can I make myself the "glory of my husband"? God obviously knew women THROUGH THE YEARS - from the time of Paul, to today and beyond - would need these verses. Yes, even today - not just those rebellious women back in Corinth.

I think we need to really step back and re-read some of those verses. It talks about how man is the image and glory of God, and woman is the glory of man. When I was looking into what the word glory meant, it talked about how God's glory is "the revelation of his being, nature & presence" (from our Bible dictionary). So man represents God (image & glory) and woman represents man (glory of man).

So how can I, today, be the best representation of my husband? What can I do that will bring him honor and respect?

What will my countenance be?
What words will I choose to use today?
How will I spend the money we have?
What kind of attitude will I have against hardships?
How will I train up our children?
How will I speak of my husband to others?

Will my husband feel valued, honored and respected by my actions today? How can I help him? He is leading our family - how can I support him as he shoulders such a responsibility? How can I be "the glory" of my husband?? I'm guessing our answers will vary ~ just as all our marriages are unique & different from one another.

I don't care HOW you do it, but give it some thought. How can YOU be "the glory" of your husband TODAY?!


p.s and if you and your husband have chosen for you to wear a headcovering, that's fine as well. I completely respect that. What an awesome outward display of this idea!! No, I don't think we all have to go out and buy lacy veils or anything, but those that choose to cover shouldn't get our scorn or be the topic of whispered gossip either. I will respect their decision and then figure out how I can best do the same. ~Lori

p.p.s. Now come on, what do *YOU* have to say about all this I Corinthians 11 stuff??????

12 comments:

Tina said...

This is certainly a light topic, eh? LOL. I think you outlined your thoughts really well. I especially like how you DIDN'T throw it all out as "just for that specific time and place" because it's MY opinion that far too many people do that with far too many uncomfortable topics. Women speaking in church, for example. God so obviously knew how our society would change and be completely different than the one in which Paul was writing, yet He put these words in there for US too. Your question of how can I represent my husband well today is awesome. Definitely something this wife needs to do a better job at.
Secondly, your respect for those who DO cover is well put. I think it's an example of the other verses where Paul says (wish I had the time to find it) that what one brother find permissible another might not and that we all have to follow where God is leading US. If He has led you to show your respect to your husband in this way, you certainly better do it!
Obeying God by obeying my husband,
Tina

Carol said...

Lori,

I wrote in your thread on the BW board, but wanted to add one more detail, here. In Tertullian's writing, we can already see how the females were now trying to make it so that just 'women' rather than 'females' were to wear coverings. You see, this wasn't just about 'married' women, as many of today's scholars are trying to make this out to be. It's about God's order. So in the first century you could already see there was a struggle now to get the covering 'off' for certain females. It's most interesting. If you want a link to Tertullian's writing, just let me know and I'll look it up for you.

So to narrow this passage to just husbands and wives I think is incorrect. It's a much broader audience, and for the sake of the angels. ;)

Kate said...

Speaking of picking and choosing, I know some denominations believe that speaking in tongues was "just for that time" and isn't relevant today. I say it IS relevant for today and God is still granting the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Unknown said...

I agree Kate. No greater power, and anointing does one get when speaking in tongues. It's awesome. It's a shame that people don't believe in it. They are missing out.

Dean B. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dean B. said...

Dannielle and Kate~this is a blog entry about 1 Cor 11, not speaking in tongues. But since you brought it up, what makes the GIFT on tongues better than any other gift? I'm assuming here that you believe everyone should show tongues evidence when B in the HS? (Itself not necessarily 100% biblically supportable.) With passages like 1 Cor 12, how does one justify the comment "No greater power, and anointing does one get when speaking in tongues. It's awesome. It's a shame that people don't believe in it. They are missing out."

Seems a little off-base Biblically...? And for the record, I believe tongues is an appropriate SG given to some, but to say there is no greater power & anointing, again it untrue b/c it is Unbiblical.

But then again, this blog entry is not really about that...

Unknown said...

You know what, Kate, I've never really delved into "speaking in tongues", as I've never attended a church, from my youth until now, that has had people speak in tongues.

The little that I have heard discussed seems to believe that *some* people may have the gift of tongues - yet I always got the impression that you had to have someone interpreting for you, or it wasn't legit??? Then again, like I said, I'm not knowlegable about that AT ALL....it's something I'd like to at least know more about so I can draw my own conclusions.

~Lori

Anneatheart said...

So glad you liked the video Lori- I can SO relate, that was me yesterday. My favorite line is "But there is going to be a beating, tonight!' and 'Thank you kind man...but you don't understand, we cannot sleep through the night unless we've had a beating!' Great stuff...

Morgan said...

Interesting... I like how you related it to whether we're showing acts of submission to our husbands in other ways.

Lori- I'm glad you liked the I Spy bags idea! There are a lot of other blogs with info. on making them too, but I thought it'd be nice to share specifically how I made mine. I made 5 (one for each of our kids and one for my neice's birthday), and then helped 4 other women learn to make theirs and have decided that's enough I spy bags to last me a lifetime LOL! Done! You'll have to let me know if you do make them and how they turn out. : )

By the way- did you ever consider a VBAC with any of your babies? I have been tossing the idea of a VBA4C lately...

Sheila said...

Yeah, you caught my attention with your title! I am "one of those" who wears a headcovering. (FWIW, it was quite a learning/growing process for me - over several years' time, actually.)
Anyway, you definitely caught the spirit of what it means to be "glorious" and truly a submissive wife/woman.
I've never felt the need to "bring the light" to others, as far as telling them they should cover. Not at all. For me, though, I knew it was something I needed to do. I do have a problem with those who do completely discount the first portion of the chapter and write it off as cultural, while embracing the rest of the chapter (as you mentioned).
Good thoughts. Thanks for posting this!
A fellow sister in Christ, fellow MI momma, and fellow "geriatric grand-multi-para," :)
Sheila
(I think I found you through Holly's blog)

Morgan said...

You had a spinal headache with your last baby? I hadn't heard you talk about how #5 went...

I think I had a spinal headache with #4- hearing distortion too. Did you have any problems with hearing? How long did the headache last? Mine was so bad I thought I was going to die from the pain- literally.

Jessica D. said...

Great to see you this week! Sorry we didn't have much time to chat!