Coming to Terms With

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

COMING TO TERMS WITH

1 Cor 11:3-10

3 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head — it is just as though her head were shaved. 6 If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. 7 A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.

NIV

Surely this was just for those in Corinth, for in our society of today this truth simply would not fly. We have made such strides in women’s rights, so much so that even the woman of the church would argue this is not for today. Of course there are some sects of faith where the women do in fact cover their head, but they are for the most part considered fringe people, peculiar people who are out of step with the modern world. Can woman live in the freedom of this worlds view and still recognize their position in the family and relationship to their husbands? Have men resigned their responsibility as the head of the family and thus undermined their authority over the family? Do men understand that Christ is their head? That they are under the authority of Christ? Although this seems to be a hard line to follow, it is still the line in the sand that God has drawn. The Father is the head if Christ, Christ is the head of man, and man is the head of woman. How clearer can we see this said that we all would grasp the significance of it? None of us are actually our own person, we come under the authority of another, and because of the responsibility that other has for us, that is why they have the authority. Yet us men must step up to the plate and be the man of God we are supposed to be. We have to take the responsibility for our wives. We have to lead them, guide them, teach them, and love them as Christ loves. God created woman specifically for man and He thus holds man accountable for the woman. It is not a popular message in our culture but it is the message. How we each deal with it, how we each reconcile our thinking, our faith, our actions, and our behavior to this message is up to each one of us. But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. This is a truth we all need to come to terms with.