WHY
I DECIDED TO WEAR A COVERING
By:
Darlene Smith
There are many reasons why I decided to start wearing a covering.
For many years I have been growing in my walk with the Lord and
have desired to
honor the Lord with my life. I look for ways that I can have a more productive
Christian walk and a better testimony for Christ. As a Christian I do not
want to identify with the world and the ways of the world; for instance,
dress, music, entertainment, and even worldly attitudes. I want to live
a life full of faith in God and a life in which others can see Christ working
in and through. I want my life to be a true representation of a Christian
who carefully walks with the Lord and tries with a whole heart to be real
and transparent and honor the Lord in every area of my life. I do not claim
to be perfect and I, of all people, know the areas in which the Lord is
working to make me a better Christian. There are still areas in my life
that the Lord will reveal to me that I need to improve in the future. I
take my Christian walk one day at a time. The bible says, “15I know thy
works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue
thee out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:15,16) I do not want to be a cold or lukewarm
Christian. When people look at me I want them to see a person who is different
from the world, I want them to see that I’m not fooling around.
Because I have decided to wear a covering, I stick my neck out and make
myself vulnerable. When I’m driving a vehicle I can’t honk my horn and
get mad, I’m a Christian and it is obvious by the way I’m dressed and my
covering. When I’m at the store and the lines are long and my feet hurt
and I only have a few items and the five buggies ahead of me are laden
down with groceries, I have to be calm, patient, and pleasant like a true
Christian should be. The covering helps me to grow in Christian character.
I can’t blend in with the crowd because I’m accountable, I have a covering
on which tells everyone around me, she is a Christian. I do not want to
ever shame the Lord Jesus Christ with a bad testimony.
About five years ago while at a Baptist church the Lord sent two different
preachers to speak at our church. The evangelist came and preached and
afterwards he had some pictures of the church he was from and we noticed
many of the women wore the covering. Several months later a missionary
came and preached. Afterward we noticed on his prayer card a picture of
his family. He had a large family with twelve children and his wife and
all the daughters wore a covering. We asked him why they did this and he
said for us to study for ourselves I Corinthians 11:1-16. We took out our
Strong’s concordance and started our study. We noticed there were two different
words in the text used for the word, covering. We were always told the
covering was just the long hair. NOTE: Many Baptists and women in other
denominations do not have long hair, but will argue that the long hair
is the covering. This prompted us to investigate the meaning of these two
different words. Verses 4-14 used the word, katakalupto, which means, to
cover wholly, i.e. veil:--cover, hide. Verse 15, on the other hand, is
the word, peribolaion, which means, something thrown around one, i.e. a
mantle, veil:--covering, vesture. We saw a difference here. One is a cover
or veil and the other was a long mantle or vesture like some kind of long
garment. There apparently was a difference between the covering in verses
4-14 and the covering in verse 15. Notice the hair is only mentioned as
a covering in this one verse. Peribolaion tells us that woman is to be
covered with long hair like a coat or cloak.
We also came to realize that women commonly cover in many places around
the world. In Asia, Africa, and places like Hungry, Romania, Germany, and
Russia, etc., women still cover except for those who have become modernized
and have forsaken the old ways. Likewise here in America we are modern
and we do not adhere to the old ways. In the 1800’s and early 1900’s women
covered. A scarf or hat was always worn at least when one went to town
or church as late as the 1960’s. Recently we saw some republished ‘Dick
and Jane’ books that were originally printed in 1951. In these books the
mother would put on a hat every time she went to town. My husband and I
remember our mothers and grandmothers commonly wearing a scarf when they
went out in public. Still in the black churches in American a hat can commonly
been seen covering the head of a lady. After much study and prayer we realized
this is a true biblical teaching and practice for the Christian woman.
In today’s modern society the woman is independent, liberated, and for
the most part can make it without a man. Most women even Christian women
only yield to their husbands a portion of their life and rights, they have
a partnership not a marriage where the man is head. Because of the woman’s
liberation movement, the woman’s role became stronger and more independent
and women became stubborn and self-willed. Thus forcing most men into a
box which the woman controls by her domineering attitudes and personality.
Over time men and women have switched or laid down their God-given rolls
thus causing a breakdown in God’s order. It is not an easy thing to restore,
I will be the first to admit. Most honest Christian women would like to
follow God’s order for a Christian marriage, but most find it a losing
battle. The world’s influence is strong in magazines, radio, television,
worldly friends, and co-workers. All teach us that a woman has her rights.
After all, “Who does he think he is anyways! He makes wrong decisions,
he needs my help making decisions, paying the bills, running the house,
etc.!” The rolls have been switched and distorted for so long that women
do not know truly how to submit and, I’m sad to say most men do not know
how to lead. It takes two, honestly determined and committed Christians,
who will study God’s word for themselves and pray and seek the Lord for
His help, healing, and direction in their marriage, for the Lord to have
His way. Both have to lay down their ideas and yield their wills to Christ
for the Lord to teach both how to acknowledge and live out their God-given
roles.
God has an order as taught in I Corinthians 11. The wife is to be under
her husband’s authority and leadership, and men are to be under the Lords
authority and leadership, loving their wives, “…even as Christ also loved
the church, and gave himself for it;” (Eph 5:25b) protecting, providing,
and leading her and his household. This is God’s perfect will and way.
It does take two dedicated, sincere Christians to make it work. God can
always change a wayward spouse if the husband or wife will seek the Lord
through much prayer and fasting. I am thankful that my husband has a heart
toward God and desires to honor the Lord with his whole heart. We desire
for the Lord to do a perfect work in us and help us to take our proper
rolls in our marriage so we can be happy and have a good testimony and
be used of the Lord however He sees fit.
The cloth covering as mentioned in I Corinthians 11 is just another way
I choose to express myself as a Christian. In today’s society many women
do not believe in God’s order neither do they practice it. Most think it
undesirable to be submissive to their husbands, and for their husband’s
to be the sole provider. Wives are to be as the scripture commands, “…discreet,
chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the
word of God be not blasphemed.” (Titus 2:5) They are to let the Lord be
in control of their womb. The Psalmist said, “Except the LORD build the
house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city,
the watchman waketh but in vain Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD:
and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a
mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his
quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with
the enemies in the gate. (Psalm 127:1,3-5) The wife shouldn’t desire the
things of this world and its lusts, but give themselves 100% to their husbands
and children, and being a witness and a help to those around them. Most
women would have a hard time with these Biblical teachings, much less wearing
a cloth covering on their head that represents all these truths.
I have to admit, starting to wear a covering was not an easy thing. When
I yielded to the Lord’s leadership in this area the Lord laid it on my
heart to stop wearing jewelry, make-up, and fancy, eye-catching, trendy
Christian styles. I used to wear small earrings and tiny gold or silver
chain necklaces, rings, and jewelry that was not gaudy. I thought this
was a modest Christian testimony, but the Lord asked me to give it all
up because what is the purpose in all these outward adornings, and does
it profit anything. It was costly, and my heart did desire new trinkets
every now and then. Nevertheless, the Lord changed my heart and desires.
My make-up was light and modest but the Lord spoke to my heart, “Why do
you have to wear make-up?” I thought, “Well, to cover up bumps and blemishes,
I don’t want to look plain Jane, after all any good barn needs paint.” Again,
the Lord dealt with my heart, “What’s wrong with looking plain Jane? It’s
a simple, clean, lovely look; one that does not want to attract complements
on beauty.” The Bible says, “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but
a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.” (Prov. 31:30) After
I quit wearing make-up, my face got natural sunlight and I didn’t look
pale from always having my face covered with make-up. It shows one’s God-given
natural beauty. One of my husbands favorite verses says, “Give unto the
LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” (Ps.
29:2) Our life and walk is to be a form of worship.
Next, the Lord convicted me about my pretty clothing. I always wore modest
dresses and skirts. I made sure not to wear pants or slits in my skirts
and my shirts and blouses were not exposing my figure or neck and chest.
I thought I was being very modest and pleasing to the Lord, but here again,
the Lord asked more of me. “What is the purpose in wearing bright eye catching
clothes?” My clothes were costly and fashionable, but modest. The Bible
says, “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel,
with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls,
or costly array; 10But (which becometh women professing godliness) with
good works.” (I Tim. 2:9,10) The Lord showed me that these clothes drew
the wrong kind of attention to myself. My friends would say, “What a pretty
dress,” or “Where did you get your shoes?” A lot of attention was paid
on my outward appearance and a lot of time and money was spent getting
ready or buying the clothes, shoes, and accessories needed to dress nice.
The Lord laid on my heart to be neat, clean, and pleasant looking without
a lot of extra attention paid to the way I looked. This would be pleasing
to Him. Now I make sure my clothes are modest, not accentuating my figure,
but clean and pressed, not funny looking, but pleasant. My hair is clean
and brushed, my face and countenance is clean and pleasant, and I work
hard to keep my heart right with the Lord so my attitude will match When
someone asks me, Why do you wear a covering?’ the Lord gave me this to
say, “It is an outward expression of my inward submission to the Lord and
my husband.” .
I would like to address two misconceptions. The first would be the idea
some have expressed that by wearing a covering it would make you look strange
or so different that it would detour people from hearing what you have
to say; thus your gospel witness would be less or of none effect. I would
like to say, that wearing a covering has not hindered but enhanced my witness
for the Lord. Actually I haven’t met anyone who says it has hindered their
witness in any way. If a person has a cheerful friendly attitude, people
are going to know you are sincere and care about them as a person. The
covering is fascinating to people, and they appreciate a bold symbol of
your belief. They are curious about what you believe. People often come
to me and ask me, “What church do you go to?” or “What denomination are
you?” they are shocked and interested when I tell them, “I’m Baptist, we’re
very conservative Baptists.” A Christian lady can be modest, clean, and
neatly dressed, and if she is not cheerful and friendly, then her witness
will be of little or none effect. It has nothing to do with the covering.
Secondly, many ladies are taught, as was I, the hair is the covering. If
we use this logic then I Cor. 11:6 would state, “For if the woman be not
covered (with long hair) let her also be shorn (have short hair) but if
it be a shame for a woman to be shorn (have short hair) or shaven (be bald)
then let her be covered (with long hair.) This does not make sense. If
a woman does not have long hair, she has short hair. The Bible would teach
if she has short hair let her be shorn (have her hair cut short.) NOTE:
A sheep that has been sheared has been shorn. To shear a sheep is to cut
very short like a mans hair cut. There are only three types of hair mentioned
here, long, shorn (short like a mans,) and shaven (which is bald.) How
can you shorn (to cut short) short hair? Short hair is already short. If
Paul meant for the long hair to be the covering for the New Testament Christian
woman, instead of the practiced cloth covering, then why did he not teach
on this subject but just once. You would think he would teach on it again
to cause women to repent of their wrong practice and take off their cloth
covering. Furthermore, why do the early church fathers teach that a Christian
woman is to wear a cloth covering over her God-given natural covering,
being her long hair. This cloth covering was to be worn by the Christian
woman as a sign of purity, humility, and submission. Why do so many people
groups around the world still practice a cloth covering on women? Here
in America it was faithfully practiced up until the 1900’s, and it declined
from there. Consider this, dresses were also worn instead of pants, and
that declined also. Now pants are worn more than dresses, and even Christian
women condone this practice. Remember Deut. 22:5.
We can see by this it is not talking about the hair. The issue here is
not long hair, but a cloth covering that hangs down to be worn over the
long hair as a symbol of submission to the Bible teaching of the headship
order. Let’s look at it like this, For if the woman be not covered (with
a cloth covering,) let her also be shorn, (have a man’s hair cut,) because
if she is not going to submit to the headship order, she’s being shameful
and out of her God-given place. But if it be a shame for a woman to be
shorn (have a mans hair cut.) or shaven (bald,) let her be covered (with
a cloth covering) Remember, the cloth covering is an outward symbol of
a Christian ladies inward submission to the Lord, and if she is married,
to her husband. If it is shameful for a woman to look like a man instead
of a woman, then let her put on a cloth covering over her long hair which
is her God-given natural covering, and be in her God-given place.
While wearing a covering out in public, I noticed two unusual things; total
strangers often come up to me and ask me to pray about specific needs in
their life. Also, after talking with somebody in public, and the conversation
is over and we depart, this person I’ve never met before will tell me, “God
bless you!” I just find this strange because before I started wearing a
covering no one ever came and asked me to pray for them or ended their
conversation with God bless you. There must be an unspoken testimony associated
with this covering.
I would like the reader to know that I am not judging those who do not
do as I have been led to do in my Christian walk. I do not think I am better
or farther along in my Christian walk. I know many Christians that do not
practice all the things I practice who are much stronger in the Lord and
godlier that I am. I just wanted to put down on paper how the Lord has
led me to wear a covering as a personal expression of my faith and walk
with God. I hope this testimony has been a blessing to you. May the Lord
greatly bless you as you live for Him.
Saved by His grace, Darlene Smith.
NOTE: Some of my friends have expressed to me that they wished they had
a tract to hand out on the covering for those who ask why we do this. If
you feel that this tract would be helpful feel free to make copies of this
and use it to the glory of God. March 2004