Not all that God has revealed to me in this exercise has been about submission. Which leads me to believe even more so that obedience without comprehending the “why” is so important. The passage in 1 Corinthians 11 didn’t mention a bit about these components I share with you today. However, I have wrestled with them ever since embarking on wearing hats. They have left me with more questions than conclusions and I invite your input.
First of all, where do I strike the balance between embracing my femininity and over-indulgence in “appearance enhancing?” After all, God did not make me simply female. He made me feminine, too. There is a reason why I enjoy getting dressed up and looking pretty and I had forgotten how much it meant to me until I found myself trying to coordinate with hats every Sunday. As the song declares, “I enjoy being a girl!” Yet, I know there are Scriptures which caution women to be careful about adornment, and I need to be sure my choices don’t cause a brother or sister to stumble in their faith. So I find myself walking the precarious line between celebrating God’s creation of me in the fullness of my girlie-girl self, and maintaining modesty and humility, with my pride in check. I have read arguments that proper head coverings (referred to in 1 Corinthians 11) cannot be fashionable hats, but must be a veil or scarf-like covering. While I find no Scriptural support for this interpretation, the basis of it gives me pause. I must acknowledge I am at great risk of turning a Scriptural mandate into an excuse to be fashionable.
The second question I have struggled with is wondering what behavior is acceptable in corporate worship. Currently I find myself in a fairly reserved, conservative worship environment, but I have been in gatherings where dancing, kneeling, even laying prostrate were perfectly acceptable expressions of worship. As most of my readers know, I am a fairly demonstrative person, and therefore joining in with these outward displays is largely appealing to me. But imagine trying any of these while adorning a hat! Even raising arms outstretched to heaven is a challenge. Does this suggest that we are supposed to be more “prime and proper” in corporate settings? Verses certainly speak to there needing to be order in worship, but verses also speak to dancing before the Lord, worshiping Him with hands raised, shouting, and even laughing being a form of worship. So which is it? Do we dance and rejoice before the Lord in heels and hats, regardless of the undignified appearance we create? Or are our adornments meant to reign us in, keeping us more controlled and orderly? I don’t have an answer yet.
I could not possibly have anticipated all that was in store for me as I began this practice. I cannot emphasize enough how strongly I believe I would have MISSED OUT without literal obedience. Please hear me – I am not saying all women everywhere must now begin to wear head coverings in church. My point is rather to get us (myself included) to ask ourselves whether “being right” regarding Scripture analysis is worth the sacrifice of “being wrong” and still learning so much.
I honestly don’t know if 1 Corinthians 11 is something meant to be taken literally. But I have been set free from
needing to know that answer. It doesn’t matter to me. What matters is God continues to reveal new things to me through the act of wearing head coverings and I refuse to give up this precious connection with our Heavenly Father just because someone might be able to prove the irrelevancy of this literal application. It has not been irrelevant for me. I continue to wear head coverings each week, because I continue to learn, grow and connect with God in ways I wouldn’t without the hat.
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