I think we can all come to the agreement that—in its simplest terms—society today is messed up! The whole concept of life has changed drastically compared to how God intended life to be when he created it. Today, the world will tell you that it is acceptable to kill the innocent as long as the mother does not want it. They will tell you that just because you were born a male does not mean you have to act like or be a male. But sometimes society sneaks things into our minds that we begin to believe without really considering. Then, without thinking, even we Christians start adapting to some of society’s beliefs. We begin to accept things that God never intended us to. One example of this is hair standards…I know what you’re thinking, “oh boy this isn’t for me” but bear with me and buckle up. Let’s dive into God’s standards together.
I had the privilege a few weeks ago to attend the Wednesday night service at our UPCI Missouri Youth Camp. Brother Joe Campatella preached the house down with the message titled “The Keepers of the Glory” (This blog post is mostly based on some of the points he spoke about). Now, yes, I had understood from the time we joined my current church why we believe that women should not cut their hair, but it had just kind of swept over and I didn’t give it much thought after a while. I had accepted it as my way of life and knew I didn’t want to cut my hair because it was my glory. But that Wednesday night I soaked in that message and reminded myself why I do what I do…
1 Corinthians 11:15 KJV says,
But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
The Bible clearly states that a woman’s hair is her glory and is given to her for a covering. Some may say since the words are not in red, they are not directly from Jesus, so they don’t see it as a command or statement from God. But,
2 Timothy 3:16 KJV says,
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Clearly, as seen here if you believe some of the Bible you have to believe all of it. Because ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God… It is ALL God’s word written using human hands as they were “moved by the Holy Ghost” (1).
Now, lets back up a bit and dig down to the roots. Since the very beginning of man, Satan has been trying to uncover what God has covered. Satan revealed to Adam and Eve that they were naked in the garden when God had already clothed them himself. In the new testament a demonic person was often easily determined by their lack of clothing or covering. For example, the demoniac of Gadara, but when Jesus cast out his devils he was “fully clothed and in his right mind” (2). Another example is the seven sons of Sceva, when they became inhabited by demons they ripped off their clothes. Satan has always tried to uncover what God has covered.
“God wants distinction between men and women; Satan wants to remove this distinction” -Joe Campatella
Let’s get back to 1 Corinthians though,
1 Corinthians 11:14 KJV says,
14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
The word shame in Greek is ἀτιμία (atimia/ at-ee-mee'-ah) which means dishonorable or disgraceful. The word is also used in Romans 1:26 and is translated “vile affections.” Verse 14 asks whether or not “even nature itself teach you.” So, by opposing these verses in 1 Corinthians, you are not simply violating some cultural idea, this shame is from nature and the laws instituted by God himself. You are violating the laws that God placed in His creation (nature), and a violation of God’s law is sin. So, shame equals sin.
Another important thing to understand in these verses, is the phrase “long hair” (v15 But if a woman have long hair...) We understand that different genetics cause different lengths of hair regardless of whether or not it has been cut. So, why would God have been referring to the length of a woman’s hair if some don’t have any control over it? The phrase does not refer to the length of the hair; it refers to being uncut. The word long hair in Greek is κομάω (komaó/kom-ah'-o) which means “to let the hair grow or to have long tresses of hair.” In short, long hair refers to letting the hair grow uncut.
But how does nature teach us this? Because baldness is a genetically programed to occur in men. It’s a reaction due to testosterone—the manlier the man, the balder he gets 😉 or so science says anyway. A branch of male hormones is wired to stunt the growth of hair follicles on the top of the male head as he ages. It’s the natural reaction instituted by nature which was instituted by God! Doth not even nature itself teach…
A woman’s hair is her God-given covering,
15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
Now, 1 Corinthians 11:4 KJV says,
4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
Verse 6 says “if the woman be not covered,” so how can she be uncovered? By doing anything that is contradictory to the growth of her hair—cutting, burning, trimming. Shortening her hair is removing her covering. Yikes. Let’s keep going, “Let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.” Shorn means to clip, cut, or shave. So, let’s translate using what we’ve found, if the woman contradicts the growth of hair (cuts), let her also be cut [off]. So, what she does to her hair let it also be done to her. Cut off?? No thank you! Next part, “but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.” In God’s eyes it is a shame to be shorn OR shaven. So, if you are going to cut a few inches off you may as well shave your entire head but don’t take it from me, it says it clearly in God’s word. Let’s keep going,
1 Corinthians 11:16 KJV says,
16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
This verse tends to also confuse people because they like to claim that Paul was now saying that if you have any disagreement towards this you can disregard the past fifteen verses. But, why would Paul spend fifteen verses preaching something to the church of Corinth only to tell them later that it doesn’t apply to you if you do not want it to? He didn’t. At the time the women of Corinth were practicing a sacrificial act in which they would cut off their hair and burn it to the gods as a burnt offering. You can read about it in the history books. Paul is simply saying we (the apostles) and the churches of God do not have such a custom where they burn their hair out of acts of praise and worship. So, let’s translate with what we know again, “if any man seems to be argumentative about (concerning) offering clippings of your hair to your god, [you should know that] we (apostles) don’t practice this custom and neither do the churches of God.
Honey, listen, this world is going to tell you that split ends are ugly, and that you “need to trim them off to make your hair healthier.” As I said previously, Satan has always tried to uncover what God has covered. As a matter of fact, women did not begin cutting their hair for “fashion reasons” until America’s Roaring 20s. Satan targets the women because we took his place when he fell from heaven…but that’s another post for another time😉 Is it a sacrifice to leave your hair uncut? Absolutely! But how much sacrifice do you think your God deserves? It’s a small price to pay considering what some other religions offer to their gods who will never hear or answer their prayers. Has it been hard at times? Yes. Have I ever wanted to cut it off and make it easier to handle? Are you kidding me? Absolutely! But it is my crowning glory and an act of sacrifice to my God who gifted it to me and created me.
The more you dig into this subject in the Bible, the cooler it gets! The mirroring between the glory of God and the glory of the woman is just fascinating and I would have loved to have dived into it in this entry but the truth is it would have just been too long. So, I’m hoping to sooner or later be able to write an extension post revealing the parallelism between a woman’s hair and the angels in heaven. Thanks for reading and I love you all so much! Feel free to email me if you have any questions: morgandanielle009@gmail.com Also: here is a link to Brother Joe Campatella preaching his sermon "The Keepers of the Glory" to the Antioch Apostolic Church on youtube:
(1) 2 Peter 1:21 King James Version (KJV)
(2) Luke 8:26-35
(3) Genesis 3:15
