Head Coverings: Yes, but Perhaps We Should Start Below the Neck
Pursuing Modesty in an Immodest World
The head-covering debate has been rampaging through the LC-MS for the last few years. Those in favor have the zeal of new converts; those opposed are pretty zealous, too. Accusations fly from both camps and Christian charity is left out in the cold.
I’m in the middle. I agree in principle: Scripture says it, and Scripture is correct. However, I don’t think St Paul would be as worried about what’s on top of our heads as what’s not covering the rest of our bodies. He was writing for a culture where the rest of the woman was already covered up. We have so much to redress before we get up there.
I took my youngest daughter to the mall a few weeks ago to search for Christmas dresses. We started at Macy’s, worked our way to the other department stores, and, after finding nothing appropriate, went to the smaller shops. One shop claims to wear its beliefs on its sleeve and stocks some clothes with Christian-sounding slogans on the labels. I doubt the commitment because many dresses, T-shirts, and trousers are missing large chunks of fabric.
The clothing is scanty, or as the young’uns say, skanky. In other words, it’s enough to make a call girl blush. On top of that, quality has collapsed. The stitching is terrible, and you can see the item would fall apart or fade badly after several washes. The prices are exorbitant, especially if you calculate it per square inch of material used!
Why do we let these companies dictate how we dress ourselves and our children? The clothes our kids are subjected to are fit for red-light districts and certainly not for church or anywhere requiring moderate modesty. Our girls are pushed into skirts and pants that show everything, tops with the midriffs cut away, and jeans that have been shredded to flaunt their legs. Modesty is so out of fashion, and “everyone else” is wearing it, so our poor kids are manipulated to follow the crowd or give up because the shops carry no options.
It’s not just our girls who suffer because of this. Our young men are already visual creatures, and now they have added temptations because of how the young ladies dress. I tell my girls to dress modestly out of love for our fellow Christians. This sentence would get a million responses from women telling me that it’s the guys who should be controlling themselves and that the girls can and should wear anything they wish. Once again, Christian charity and common sense are left out in the cold.
The problem is, where does one find such items? We came home from the store with nothing to show for our efforts. My poor kid wore a hand-me-down that I had worn, then our oldest, and now her. It was feminine and suitable for company, covering all the parts that needed covering, even if it wasn’t sparkly and new.
I wish that someone would start producing clothing that is stylish, made to last, and beautiful again. But until then, we will not be participating in the culture’s degradation of our sex.
