Scriptural Reference:
"But if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is
given to her for a covering"
1 Corinthians 11:15
"A woman shall
not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for
whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God"
Deuteronomy 22:5
"Does not
nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace
for him"
1 Corinthians 11:14
"Gray hair
is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life"
Proverbs 16:31
"Do not let
your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of
gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear"
1 Peter 3:3
Reflection:
When we look at the Bible, with a consideration about how Christians
should live in the world, we see several uncomfortable directions regarding
our hair and our clothes. Instructions that are aimed at both men and
women. I say that these are uncomfortable as the world now seems fixated
at blurring the lines between men and women. Creating a wide range of
what has come to be termed "Trans Gender" individuals. Men
who openly want to identify as women and women who want to identify
as men. Oddly there are even those who are identifying as either animals
or innanimate objects. Such is the new age fanatisism of the growing
LGBTQ+ community. People have learned they can shape and pervert children
to believe just about anything.
Looking at the
above verses we can consider what is being expressed one at a time.
In 1 Corinthians 11:15 we read that a womans head covering is to be
deemed a glory. Many have at times interpreted that this implies a cloth
covering. Yet the words seem to clearly portray the hair as the covering
for the woman and not a piece of clothing. While in 1 Peter 3:3 we learn
that this consideration of hair should include a woman's clothes and
addornments. The Bible is very cautionary of women addorning themselves
with jewelry and gaudy clothing. The purpose here is to warn women that
such addornments are not becoming of a woman. Society doesn't see the
woman as a unique and wonderful person. The world looks at the outside
image of the person and ignores the inner person. This is how shallow
people are these days. As an example; if you wear trendy clothes and
look as some might still say 'cool as' you will get treated as someone
interesting. On the otherhand, if you wear plain clothes or old out
of fashion clothes, you will find people standing at a distance from
you. So as mentioned, the Bible is telling women that they should avoid
wearing jewelry and clothes that addorn the body but distract from the
soul.
As for the crazy
trend of unisex clothes? We can turn to the Bible and read in Deuteronomy
22:5 doing this is not seemly or correct. God see us as we were created.
Which is as eithe a Man or a Woman. The trend of wearing the oposite
clothes may seem innocent enough, but it does tend to follow the worlds
trend of difusing the line between the two genders. It feeds right into
Satans plans of devaluing what it means to be either a man or a woman.
How sad it has been to see young boys riddiculed at school just for
being a boy. Conjoled and chersed into thinking they really should be
girls. While little girls are told that they are either boys or that
to have any feminine feeling makes them les than normal. Our education
systems have gone to great lengths to destroy our youth. There's nothing
wrong with a boy liking cooking and there's nothing wrong with a girl
liking working as an engineer. What is wrong is the way society tries
to force children to change to fit their athiestic agenda.
Men and women
have gone through various phases of fashion when it comes to the ength
of their hair. I remember in the 1960's it was the in fashion for men
to have long hair. The musical Hair seemed to epitimise this tend and
enforced the who;e hippy sub culture that pervaded American, and later
other countries, culture. While I have noticed in recent times the growing
trend for women to have short hair. I have asked some why they have
short hair and I have had various answers. Mostly it comes down to convinience.
Yet when I bring up to subject of the Bible and what it tells us I am
surprised at how quick the 'convinience' explanation changes to the
'I won't be told what to do' excuse. It would seem the Bible is okay
when it comes to assurance of salvation but that is where for many men
and women it ends.
What of old age?
In our youth focused world old people are now seen as not only out dated
but also a burden on society. The growing trend in the Mass Media is
to raise the alarm at how many older people there will be in the near
future. Highlighting the growing number of elderly and the diminishing
number of those willing to work in care taker roles. It could well be
seen that such media hype can only broaden the growing gap between the
young and the elderly. Personally when I was young I was told to respect
older people as they have lived life and have much to share. Yet when
I attended University, as a mature aged student,I found the open hostility
from the younger students to be rude and confronting. The teachers didn't
seem to care and could be at times just as hostile. What does the Bible
tell us? In Proverbs 16:31 we read the wonderful words of how grey hair
should be seen as a crown of glory. It is the sign of a long life which
should be reaspected.
In short the Bible
is here to guide and instruct us. We were created as Men and as Women.
The two have very unique and distinct roles to play within the family
and within the community. We will see some men called to more caring
and nurturing roles as well as some women called to more robust and
manual roles. Yet in the end it's not what they do but how they present
themselves to the world we live in. If Christians continue to dress
and act no different to the world than what chaance does our witness
of the Gospel of God's Grace as expressed through His Son Jesus the
Christ have of ever being seen, heard and felt.
Prayer:
Lord,
I pray that I may be;
A man of conviction,
A man who lives his faith,
A man reads the Bible,
A man after your heart.
In all things as Christian
Amen