Altering Our God Given Glory...

I know I have raised the question before of trimming one's hair.  To many women, the word "shorn" (1 Cor 11:6) means "to cut".  However, I believe shorn means "to shave".  The greek word used for "shorn" translates to "shearing or cutting short the hair of the head".  To me, when I hear the word shorn, I automatically think of how you "shear" a sheep in the spring, cutting the wool so close to the skin that it is practically shaven.  That being said, I will trim my hair and I personally believe that is okay.  As of now, I have not felt convicted otherwise. 

However, if you do not agree with cutting your hair, would you consider altering it in any other way?  Such as, coloring it, taking vitamins to make it thicker, having it thinned, etc? 

I have a friend who has told me that cutting our hair is sinful because that's what shorn means, but then she recently told me she was considering starting to take a thyroid medication because it supposedly thickens your hair.  I see two problems with this, the first being if you do not have a thyroid problem and start taking something for it, nothing good will come of it for your body.  However, there are other products out there (ie. prenatal vitamins) that are known to give women thicker hair.  The second problem I see with it is if you are not cutting your hair because it is God's glory to a woman, then should you alter it in any other way?

My opinion is no, but I would like to hear what someone else thinks about this. 

I also think some of this has to do with the individual's motives behind wanting thicker hair.  Personally, I cannot think of a reason which would give necessity to having thicker hair, the only ones I can think of are for personal gain or out of envy. 

But I also suppose, it depends on each of our own convictions of what 1 Corinthians 11 is meaning.  Does it mean that we are only to not cut our hair, can we cut it but not short, can we do other alterations to it?  Literally speaking, the passage only speaks of a woman needing to cover her head unless she finds it okay for a woman to be shaven or shorn.  But is more implied?  What do you think?
Blessings in Christ,

 

To trim our hair or not to trim?

I have been thinking a bit lately about what Paul means in 1 Corinithians 11 when he says "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."

What does shorn mean? What does shaven mean? Does this mean that we can never cut our hair? Even a trim?

Great Treasures defines to be shorn as "shearing or cutting short the hair of the head". To me, this reminds me of shearing a sheep -- how the person cutting the wool off a sheep goes as close to the skin as possible. That is what I think of when I hear the word shear. Shaven is also another way to say shorn because shaven is cutting short the hair as well.

Does this mean we cannot trim our hair? I have the position that we can trim our hair. I know this is a debate to women who are new to this passage and those who have been raised with the headcovering passage. My thoughts are that trimming could be taken too far if there was a youth that wanted to cut her hair and instead said she was going to have it "trimmed"; however, generally, a trim means two inches at most...but usually just enough to get the dead ends off. I also look at it as my body is a temple for God, He gave me my body and the hair on my head. I am to take care of my body, so why should I not take care of the hair which He also gave me? We tell people who self-mutilate their body is a temple to God and they should not be harming something God gave them, we cite that as a reason not to get tattoos as well. Why then would we allow our hair to die and neglect to take care of it, not treating it like it is God's temple?

Maybe I take it too far, but this is my personal belief. That if I am to take care of my body because God gave it to me, then I ought to take care of it all, hair included. Yes, this does mean an occasional trim of an inch or so to keep my hair healthy.

Blessings in Christ,

Life Updates

I know I have been rather quiet once again. This time it is because I have been busy packing and getting ready to move. I have half my trunk packed and I'm not making my next trip until Wednesday. I am so used to going away to college where I am able to leave almost half my things behind at home, but I am not sure if I am able to do that this time, guess I should ask. My parents are not in agreement with my decision to move and my mom just told me that my room will be changing when I leave. Meaning...it's actually going to be clean! Lol. I have some OCD tendancies (as do most people) and the one that annoys my mom the most is my inability to stack things high. I make little piles, about a foot high, all around the walls in a room. I cannot stand anything being stacked higher than that, I work myself into a frenzy.

My goal for this trip is to get as much of the stuff that I know I want to take packed and fit into my car. My roommate's grandparents are also making a trip to bring us some furniture, so very nice of them. We got a brand new twin size at auction last week - oh my, auction was so much fun! It certainly got my adreneline pumping :) I don't think we'll be needing anything in the near future, but I might go to a local auction again just for the fun of it!

I have signed up for substitute teaching in the area and will be eligible after this Thursday when I have my orientation. I also need to decide by the end of the week if I want to go for my EMT-B license right now because the place I would take it at is ordering books next Monday. I am continuing to pray on it and am waiting to see what the Lord opens up for me.

Right now I am also going through a phase where I have an urge to "do" my hair instead of pulling it back into a bun like I have been. I don't cover at home out of respect for my parents - I believe this fuels my urge when I am at home. Plus when I am not home then I am around other sisters in Christ who cover and their hair is pulled back so it makes it less tempting to want to style my hair.

Anyway, I just wanted to give a short update. When I move I will not have internet in the apartment, but I do still plan to keep my blog and post when I go up to the library or the subway that has wi-fi.

Blessings in Christ,