Scriptural Reference:
(ESV Bible Quotes)

Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.
Proverbs 16:31

Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.
1 Peter 3:3-4

Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.
1 Corinthians 11:13-16

Reflection:

This scriptural reflection is on a somewhat contentious topic of hair, haircuts and dyeing. In our modern world it has been an accepted practice for women to have shortly cropped hair while some men have gone the opposite direction and chosen to have long hair. While the liberal theologian will say when in Rome do as the Romans do, the more conservative theologian will point to the Bible for their direction and understanding on the topic. What we will do is to look at the above verses and see what we can glean from them.

To begin with we find in Proverbs 16:31 a message for all of us who are slowly going grey. Some see this aging process as an insult and try to dye our hair so as to avoid the stigma and ageist attitudes attached to greying hair. I for one have given in to this trend by dyeing my hair black. It made me look slightly younger than I am and helped ease my ego just a bit. But am I missing the importance of what grey hair can signify? Am I allowing my vanity to look young to override the natural accent of my bodies biological clock? I also know of many men and women who do the same to add lustre or charisma to their looks. From a brief and standard consideration of this verse we may perceive the writer is just telling us that grey hair is a crown of glory and a sign of a righteous life. This does not infer that everyone who has grey hair has lived righteously. Nor does it state that dyeing the hair to cover the grey should be deemed unacceptable. It merely states that we can accept it as a natural part of a life that has been hopefully lived in a righteous manner. So those who are still dyeing their hair to hide the encouragement of grey can rest now knowing that the only thing they may be doing is covering up any sign of a well lived life.

So moving right along we come to 1 Peter 3:3-4 where we are told in a clearer manner that elaborate hair styles and adornments are to be avoided. To come to terms with this verse we may need to look at it in context of the time it was written. It was the social practice of many non Christian women and especially those who worked in the sex trade to dress to impress clients. The adorning of hair became both an advertisement of who had money and who was available for a few hours of traded pleasure. The writer is warning against such styles and adornments so as the modest Christian would not be confuses with the rest of the world around them. As an example I can mention that after Church a small group of our congregation will go to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. This is a great way of continuing the fellowship and staying together. The challenge is that they serve those Chinese Fortune Cookies (the ones that were actually created in either in Japan or California) and the group rip into them and share the quaint messages. I have mentioned that as Christians we need to be careful and not be conformed to the world. The point I'm making is that anyone who sees us and knows we are Christians can easily assume that we are no different from non Christians as we do the same exact things as everyone else. In this example we can see that the writer of 1 Peter is warning against accepting the styles of the worldly. As for a modern interpretation we may need to take this on individual cases. Why does someone style their hair? Why do they adorn themselves with gold and other jewelry? Is the practice to make themselves feel good? Are they trying to impress others? If either were the case then a more modest approach would be suggested as being acceptable.

Finishing off with 1 Corinthians 11:13-16 where we get a list of things that are advised as being acceptable and preferred. Once again we will briefly reflect on the times of the writers words. At the time women who had their hair cut short were deemed to be of a lesser social status. While men who chose to have long hair were deemed to be questionably effeminate. Curiously the latter of these two seems to be relevant in toady's world. How many men who claim to be openly homosexual have long hair? While the first observation may also be deemed to still be true as one may observe that most women who profess to be lesbians have short hair to emulate the style of the male and as such reinforce their desire to be deemed masculine. The verses direct a woman to see their hair as an arraignment and a natural adornment while a many is tasked to show their masculinity by the cropping of their hair.

Curiously the last instructions in this set of verses directs Christians not to be 'contentious' as such an attitude is not part of the Church or the family of Christ. We can also see this same message when reading Romans 14:4 where we are told;

4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

The chapter goes through a small list of contentious issues that were going through the early Church in Rome and was causing all sorts of strife among the faithful. Paul instructs the believers that there are reasons for what people may do, but as long as their intent is correct and set before God and for the glory of God they will be judged by God and not by those in the Church. Is this is a sort of theological 'get out of jail free' card? The answer is yes and no. If the act or practice is a direct and recorded sin, such as homosexuality or lesbianism, then there is no excuse permitted. Though if the act or practice is based on long hair or short, it may come down to where the individuals heart is. I personally direct people to pray diligently and seek the council of the Holy Spirit as to what practice is best for their relationship with God.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father,
The World is a constant challenge.
So many false role models,
So many false idols,
So many false practices.

I pray that in each of my choices,
That brings me closer to you,
And not further away from.
That each step I take reflects,
Your love and Grace for me.

Amen