1 Corinthians 11:3-6
But 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. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head.
This is one of those challenging passages that must be read in its historical and cultural context. This is not a timeless truth but a tradition in the early church. We must dig deep to find the principles guiding Paul’s admonitions here. It was dishonoring for a Christian woman to pray without a head covering. A woman should look and act in ways appropriate to a given cultural context. I have visited different countries. For example, it is not appropriate for a Christian woman in Papua New Guinea to wear shorts in public. It the USA, it is not appropriate (in my opinion) for women to wear revealing clothes to church (and this often happens, thus creating temptations for men). The rejection of culture was creating problems in Corinth and was keeping the Corinthians from growing together in unity and growing individually. It is crucial to remember that Paul had just talked about doing whatever necessary to win people to Christ. Dress, hairstyle, and other outward activities can influence one’s witness. The best guide for this is the law of love: we should not do, dress, act, or say anything that is not loving to other people in such a way that they can see our witness and want to believe in our savior.
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