Should we wear a covering in church? 1 Corinthians 11

1 Corinthians 11:3 (NASBStr)

But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.

Should a man wear a head covering while he is praying or prophesying?   Should a women be required to wear a head covering during worship, or praying or prophesying during a church service?  These are the questions that Paul addresses in the first part of chapter eleven.   Last year I made a point on this discussion of how trivial a matter like this should be to the entire church doctrine.   Paul seems to be diverted from the major theme of Christ resurrection by handling such a topic.   Yet, when we see the above verse that Paul is not arguing for men to be uncovered and women to be covered from a social or community tradition point of view.   (NOTE:  whatever  you argue is the interpretation of this argument Paul has explicitly stated it is in regard to praying or prophesying in a church service.)  In the above verse Paul states the first phase of his argument as pertaining to the nature of the Trinity and the nature of Creation.   You and I and the church may not like the practical implications of head covering in the church but Paul is not giving us an oral argument based upon his "customs" or "customs of Corinth" at the time.   Paul is telling us that covering in the church is based upon the fact that by "function" (not nature") Christ is subjective to God; and the women by "function" (not by "nature") is subjective to man.   His argument seems to be that since this is true, than in the church service, the women should be wearing some sign of the subjection when we she is praying or prophesying (NOTE: the fact that he makes this argument means women can't be "silent" in the church all the time ... 1 Corinthians 14:34.)   It seems plain that Paul is telling us that the covering of the head is a picture of our submissiveness to Christ and to each other.   Women, by nature, are on the same level as men.  Christianity did that.  However, by function in the church (and the home) to be submissive to the man.  The man, is to be submissive to the women since she is part of the Body of Christ and we are to submit ourselves to each other.   The "covering" in the church is a symbol of that submission.  If we refuse, for practical reasons, to wear a real covering (should we refuse?) than we ought to at least make sure we follow the spirit of chapter eleven, if not the letter of Paul's instruction.  It is based upon the function of the trinity and the order of creation ... not the whim of an unmarried male-teacher named Paul.  

Down the hatch or out of the heart? Mark 7-8

Mark 7:20-23 (NASBStr)

And He was saying, “ That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

What's in the well comes up in the bucket!   If we are not careful, our society might lead us into the wrong direction in regard to spirituality and food intake.  In the Old Testament God had some tough regulations about what they could and could not eat.   Some of he laws had a real safety issue intertwine with them (due to a lack of refrigeration during that time).   God had commanded them NOT to eat certain food.  Today, our society is trying to regulate our consumption due to "spiritual" laws of their own.   And, although it is always right to eat healthy (who determines that definition?) Jesus here gives us a great lesson to learn.   He is telling us that it is not the intake that defiles us and disqualifies us for righteousness (which is what the Pharisees in the chapter were talking about).  Jesus is telling us that what comes out of our hearts defiles us.  Man's evilness is in his heart prior to what he eats.   Envy comes from a desire to have something we are not supposed to have and that simply in in our heart due to the sin of Adam being passed down to us.   We can get very Pharisaical by wanting to "check" what others eat or do.   We tend to put "spiritual" significance to their choices in life and want to condemn them as "unjust" for those choices (smoking, chewing, drinking, etc).   Yet, those actions (although deemed unhealthy by someone) do not disqualify the person to God.   Don't mistake good and healthy (?) decisions and life styles for a spiritual walk with God.   What comes out of our heart determines our spirituality and walk with God, not what goes into our mouth.  

Why to followers fall? Jeremiah 7-11

Jeremiah 10:21 (NASBStr)

For the shepherds have become stupid

And have not sought the Lord;

Therefore they have not prospered,

And all their flock is scattered.

When leadership has lost its bearing and the flock will follow!!   In this section of Jeremiah we read about God's indictment of their falling away from His ways.   Every line and verse shows their apostasy.  They desired to follow the gods they created and/or creation itself.  They worshipped the sun and moon.  They cut trees and shaped them into lifeless gods with gold earrings and silver necklaces.   Why?  How?  Where were the priest who should have kept them in check?  Where were the rulers who should have pointed out their sins, early in their seed?   The above verse answers these questions.   When the leader goes astray they will lead others.    This is why leaders are held to a greater form of justice.  They are held to a greater standard.   In Luke 12:48 we read, "... to whom much is given, much is required."    Leadership is held to a higher level of accountability because when they fail so, too, do the sheep that follow.  Follower-ship is responsible, as well.  But leadership takes them to the edge of disobedience by failing to lead.  

Do you have enough money to buy wisdom? Job 27-28

Job 28:28 (NASBStr)

“And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;

And to depart from evil is understanding. ’”

God has hidden wisdom from man.  Although he has all the riches in the world and has sought out all types of gold, jewels, mining and wealth (Job 28:1-11) he can't find wisdom.   Although man has all types of wealth and wants to buy wisdom it can't be purchased.    Think of the amount of money in this country that is spent on education.  A quick google search puts the money spent on JUST K-12 education at $600 billion.   Another sight said that in 2010 the United States spent over $800 billion on education.   In all that money no wisdom could be purchased, however.   In all the corporate training in the U.S. was estimated at another $125 billion according to a 2010 report.   So, after almost one trillion dollars spent each year on the acquiring knowledge, according to Job (and God) no wisdom was actually acquired.   Of course, that means, if they didn't pursue wisdom with a desire to Fear The Lord.   Solomon must have read this chapter of Job when he penned the following words:

Proverbs 17:16

Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool

to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?

What Solomon is saying to us is that you can have all kinds of money but if you have no heart for God you will never get wisdom.   We have millions of people who purchase "christian" education in our society and the student has no "heart" for wisdom.   Job, Solomon and the other Biblical writers are telling us that if you have no desire to come to God in faith you can't have wisdom.   You can accumulate facts.  You can stumble on wise thoughts.   But, you can "have" wisdom without the Fear of The Lord.   Dig all you want for riches.  But, they will never provide you with wisdom. 

Do you know the end of your life? Psalm 39-41

Psalms 39:4-5 (NASBStr)

“ Lord, make me to know my end

And what is the extent of my days;

Let me know how transient I am.

 “Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths,

And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight;

Surely every man at his best is a mere breath.

Selah.

We seldom like to think of the end of anything; unless it is bad.   We don't mind thinking of the end of sickness, or a test, or large set of work tasks.   But, we seldom want to know when the fun ends, or when the relationship ends; and certainly not when the life ends.   We put little thought into the end of our lives. Even though we have been told for years we should eat better to extend our life, we don't.   We are told to save better for the end of life, but we don't ... can't.   We are also encouraged to plan for the end in multiple ways and we don't.    So, in the above verses we see something unusual coming from man: A request to know his end.   What a great prayer to whisper each day.   We need God to remind us every day about the end of our life.   What is the extent of our days? The word "extent" is often used in regard to material measurement, such as clothe.   David is conscious of the fact that his days are measured; they are limited.   In Psalm 90:10 he will speak of this again and give exact measurement of man's days: 70 years.   Here God tells us that even at our best we are but a mere breath.   Look at all the history we have and the millions of names of people.  They lived but a mere puff as compared to eternity.   We each should ask God to make known the end of our days.  As short as they are we need to use them in a way to praise God through faith in His work.   Giving God the glory in this brief life gives the brevity meaning.   When we steal God's glory and use our life for ourselves it is not only short it is meaningless.   If you want the short time on this earth to matter make it a glory to God.   

How do you respond to mis-treatment? 1 Samuel 16-20

1 Samuel 18:30 (NASBStr)

Then the commanders of the Philistines went out to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul. So his name was highly esteemed.

If you read chapter 18 of this chapter you have to be struck with David's character.   He was attacked, swindled, denied promises, discredited and provoked.  Yet, David did not respond back.  He simply acted with more wisdom and meekness than any other of Saul's servants.  Treated worse than Saul's servants, David rose above them.   Note what Matthew Henry states in his concise commentary on this passage:

For a long time David was kept in continual apprehension of falling by the hand of Saul, yet he persevered in meek and respectful behavior towards his persecutor. How uncommon is such prudence and discretion, especially under insults and provocations! Let us inquire if we imitate this part of the exemplary character before us. Are we behaving wisely in all our ways? Is there no sinful omission, no rashness of spirit, nothing wrong in our conduct? Opposition and perverseness in others, will not excuse wrong tempers in us, but should increase our care, and attention to the duties of our station. Consider Him that endured contradiction of sinners (Matthew Henry, Concise Edition).  

The last line, of course, is spoken in regard to Christ.   He endured persecution to become our Savior (Hebrews 12:23).  How we respond to mis-treatment says more about our faith than our lips do.  Our actions speak louder than our words.  When we are treated unkindly we are to find a way, through faith in Christ's power, to endure the affliction and not strike back.   God is looking for more David's in this world.   God sent His Son to take our affliction for us and we should respond in kindness and not in revenge or vindictiveness.   

Do you have rope tied to your leg? Exodus 1-4

Exodus 4:10 (NASBStr)

Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

When a baby elephant is born they stake it to the ground with a rope tied to their front leg.   The little guy pulls and pulls only to discover he can't pull the stake out of the ground.  As it grows older it quits trying to pull the stake out of the ground because it has tried before and can't.   Even though it weighs twelve ton and the elephant can pull trees out with its trunk it won't try to pull the stake out because it has learned an "assumed constraint."  It "assumes" since he never could he still can't.   Here, in the above passage, is a good example of how the same concept of an assumed constraint affects our service for God.   God told Moses to go and lead His people out of Egypt and to "speak" to the King.   Moses has had a speech rope tied to a factious stake for all his life.   He only knows one thing, he can speak eloquently.   Even though he is not speaking to the God of the universe, who made his tongue, he feels constrained by his past inabilities.  When God calls us, however, He equips.  God knew about Moses speech issues ... He created them.   God also knows He can give us the power to overcome them when He wants.   We all have assumed constraints.   The Scripture is full of people who expose them and use them as excuses in their lives.   But, with God all things are possible.  We can move mountains by faith in God.   Don't let an assumed constraint hold you back from your service for God.  There is nothing He can overcome in our lives when we approach our service by faith in His power.