Worship Attitude

To Cover or Not To Cover
1 Corinthians 11:3-16

Growing up as a Catholic I recall that every female wore a head covering of some sort. Most had mantillas (a small veil or mantle) of fine lace held in place with bobby pins while the less fortunate would simply tie a large handkerchief or bandana over their heads. Similarly, men removed their hats before entering the sanctuary. And there was no “corporate” prayer as we know it. If you wanted to pray you came to church early before the service started and you knelt in the pew, bowed your head, and said your prayers in a hushed voice. Other than that you did not speak in church unless you were responding to the leading of the priest during the liturgy. Granted that we may not agree with Catholic theology but I always understood that all of it was a sign of reverence for the Lord. In the Baptist church where I came from most of the ladies wore a hat on Sunday morning and some were quite elegant. I never heard my pastor address this issue so I am not sure if this practice was out of reverence for the Lord or just fashion.

Although we cannot deny that this passage explicitly states that men should leave their heads uncovered and women should not during worship it is not considered a fundamental of our faith. This means that our salvation does not depend on whether we cover our head or not. Essentially it is a question of coming to terms with it. As stated in Romans 14:5, "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."

More than requiring or not requiring a head-covering, this passage addresses the issue of headship in the home and in the church. And along with that headship, the responsibility that comes with it.

While the word covering in the original Greek simply means something thrown around and can refer to a veil or a mantle, it’s more than just taking off your hat if you are a man; or putting one on if you are a woman. It refers to the protection or “covering” that is implicit with headship.

When we accept the headship that God places over our lives we enjoy the protection that comes along with that headship. When we reject God-ordained headship we remove ourselves from under that protection and are left defenseless.

We see an excellent example of this in the garden. Eve was under the headship and covering of her husband Adam (See Genesis 2:22-23). When the serpent tempted her she should have immediately sought out her husband's protection and let him handle the situation. Instead she took matters into her own hand and engaged in dialog with the serpent. (Genesis 3:2) In doing this she effectively removed herself from under Adam’s headship and covering. She was left defenseless and the rest is Bible history. However, Adam had a responsibility to ensure her continued protection and should not have left her unattended. This is why God held him accountable for the sin.

The main issue as it relates to physically covering or not covering the head in worship is the attitude that the person has toward God-ordained authority. The man’s attitude towards the authority of Christ will determine if he uncovers his head while worshipping. In the same way, the woman’s attitude towards the man’s headship determines if she will cover her head while in worship.

The word head in verse 3 refers to the one whom God has placed in headship or authority over you. Notice how the passage starts out. The head of the man is Christ; meaning that Christ has authority over the man. Therefore the man must be submitted to Christ and accept His covering. This is a point most men seem to miss in our rush to get to the part that gives us headship of the woman.

In the same verse (3) we see that the head or authority over the woman is the man. Now this does not in any way mean that the woman is not under the headship of Christ. In fact, when she submits to the authority of the man in her life she is acknowledging Christ’s authority over her. The man in her life is her father if she is unmarried or her husband if she is married. Now this does not mean that a woman can be disrespectful to a man that is not her husband or father anymore than a man can ignore a call for help from a defenseless woman who is not his wife or daughter. Proper decorum is always in order for our God is not the author of confusion.

Within the structure of the local congregation the elders (also know as pastors or bishops) represent the headship of Christ and as such are responsible for the nurture and covering of the flock that God has entrusted to their care. (See Hebrews 13:17)

Headship then means more than just having someone over you. It means that you are under the protection of the one who has the headship over you and they are responsible for your welfare.

This passage teaches us that our Heavenly Father is the head of Christ and covers Him, Christ is the head of the man and covers the man, and the man is the head of the woman and therefore must cover or be responsible for the women (wife and daughters) that God has placed in his life.

In verses 11 and 12 we see that the man’s headship of the woman is an act of God’s grace. As such his headship is a service to God and he has no cause or right to lord it over the woman. He is to accept his responsibilities seriously and in submission to Christ.

I was recently asked the question, “Should I cover my head while praying or is my hair enough?”

The best answer I can give at this time is that the Bible speaks for the Bible and it says what it says. We cannot change that.

If this is an issue for anyone, man or woman, I recommend that you seek God in prayer. Verse 15 indicates that the woman’s hair is given to her as a physical head covering and it seems to imply that it should preferably be worn long. Whether the scripture means that her long hair is enough to satisfy the requirement of a covering is not clear to me at this time simply because not all women are naturally gifted with long hair. I will continue to study this passage as time permits and will pray for guidance in this matter.

Verse 16 tells us that we should not get involved in arguments over the issue of physical head coverings and if you go back to verse 13 you see that this is something that the Corinthians should have been able to work out. Verse 16 also seems to suggest that this was not an issue in other churches. We must remember that the reason for Paul’s letter to the Corinthians was by and large to settle disputes and bring order to an unruly congregation. Praise God from them for we can learn much about order in the church from this epistle.

In conclusion, regardless of how anyone interprets this passage, ultimately we are all under the headship of Christ and must submit to Him. (See Colossians 1:18). In addition, both men and women are to submit to each other out of reverence for Jesus our Lord. (See Ephesians 5:21)

From my own perspective, I am not against our modern approach to church and worship but sometimes I yearn for the reverence that I saw in the sanctuary of my youth. We worship to please God! Whether we cover our heads or not, if our hearts are not right with God we will not be able to worship Him in spirit and in truth, our worship will fall by the wayside, and we will not please Him. Let us then approach him with a heart of worship.

Along with the song writer and anyone else who cares to join in, I want lift up my voice and sing; I'm coming back to the heart of worship. But I want to give my LORD more than a song. I want to present myself with a penitent heart and humble myself before Him because He is El Elyon, the Most High God. And when the music fades away and I am left with the silence of my solitude I will continue to make a joyful noise because He is my LORD and He is worthy!