Witnessing with My Cover

INITIALLY POSTED ON September 19, 2010 on Facebook.

This was an email that I sent to someone a while back, but I always seem to get questions regarding: "How do you witness with that thing on your head? You can't relate. Plus, it turns people off!" WELL...Here's my answer. SO, bear with me cause it's a long ramble of thoughts!

Here are my thoughts regarding 1 Corinthians 9-10 in response to head covering, etc. :) Anyone reading this…you might want to have your bible handy. Sometime I will quote directly, other times I won’t. I generally use the NIV version in quoting. :)

Okay…So one of the first things that began to be a concern as I started wearing my cover was the issue of witnessing! I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to witness with “this thing” on my head, especially because I wouldn’t be in the “in crowd” any longer. This thought actually overwhelmed me to the point where I was finally “done” with the whole thing. SO…because God wouldn’t let me go more than 48 hours without wearing my cover, I started looking into witnessing with it on. The first verse that popped into mind was…1 Corinthians 9:22 which says, “…I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” However, Romans 12:2 also popped up in the middle of that thought…“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” So, how do I become all things to all men, yet not conform?

In my experiences at college, and even in HS, it didn’t matter what you looked like…as long as you were someone who didn’t cheat, lie, or turn your back on our friendship, you were good! What other people wore to school didn’t really matter. (NOW, what you chose to wear mattered for SURE!...Except for college…Then everyone dresses in their own way.) In college, other than the few people that will talk behind your back even though you are walking by them, MOST people don’t really care what you wear, how you do your hair, what color your hair is, etc! It helps that I am at a public school where a person has the right to do anything he/she wants to. (It really isn’t a right, but that’s how it is understood.) So, from that perspective, I am more adopting the view of “I have a right to do anything and so do you.” In a way, that it becoming like them. I can still relate to them. Once people get over any phobia they have towards me…often times, once they figure out that I’m a Christian, they are completely fine. As long as I don’t sit in the back or stand off to the side and seem like I don’t want to interact…I am fine. Once people see the “me” behind my cover, they are fine. They might even like me. And for those who have known me before the days of my cover, it’s a lil’ awkward the first time they see me with it on, but after that (and maybe a question), everyone is fine. They get used to it pretty quickly because it is college…“meh, you can do what you want, and I’ll do what I want” sorta thing. :)

I know it may seem really harsh to put it this way, but I don’t want to be like everyone else. We as Christians are supposed to stand out…and in order for my character to stand out as different, I have to have my cover on. It reminds me that I am no more that what a man is worth. It reminds me to watch every single action, every single word. The world is watching to know how a Christian is supposed to behave. My cover reminds me to be modest. It would look awfully funny for me to choose to wear a shirt that barely covers the “no zone” and still wear my headscarf. I choose not to cover my neck because I don’t find it to be necessary for modesty nor head covering. I am meant to be different….And this isn’t in the “everyone is different” sort of way. I am meant to radiate God’s love from me…and I can’t do that if I am constantly forgetful of being modest and thoughtful of my words and actions. I can’t tell you how many times I have sinned with this cover on and IMMEDIATELY known it…Some of the things I have done, I never actually recognized them as sins before. Through wearing the cover, I am being transformed by the Holy Spirit. I am growing closer to God through constant prayers and the reminder that I am “being watched.” Anyhow, I’m sorta getting off topic, but what I said totally relates to 1 Corinthians 10:23-24. For me, head covering is beneficial. It helps me focus on God throughout the ENTIRE day, not just whenever I squeeze in my devotion time. It helps me to give God my entire day, and really…my entire life. It’s the reminder that God is present not just when I go to church or in devotion time, but also when I’m standing in line for food, or texting (I mean sitting) in class, or talking with someone. For my life, and the lives of those around me, my head covering is beneficial and constructive…

As for the rest of that passage…1 Cor 10:31-33

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks, or the church of God – even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.”

This passage reminds me of four words (Actually, three words…cause one repeats itself.) “LOVE GOD; LOVE PEOPLE.” Some wise guy told me that as the abbreviated version of what our entire lives are about as Christians. No matter who you consult, or what commentary you go to, our number one priority on this earth is to love God. John 14:21 says, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will show my love to him.” I love God by obeying what He has shown to me in regards to head covering. Even if I can’t prove it Scripturally, God can still ask me to do this and has reaffirmed it multiple times. Ha. This is something I believe is Scriptural, so I believe that even though there is one passage about head covering, it still rings true. (There’s only one verse about God creating the world, but we as Christians don’t doubt that?!...Nor any other passage that is only mentioned one time, etc.) By obeying this passage and what He has set in my heart for me to do, I am loving Him. One of the ways we can love God is by loving people. By serving. By bringing them into a relationship with the Creator. Out of our love from God overflows service. Because of what God has done for me, it is now that I can cover my head and love people for who they are. I can still relate to their stories, because I have been there. But, I’m not going to back down from covering my head merely because I don’t “look” like everyone else. I don’t mind looking different. I don’t mind being different…especially if it is a SIMPLE way for me to love God as He points out sin in my life and helps me focus on His constant presence. God asked me to cover my head…Now, He can show me how to be obedient not only to the call of head covering, but also to the call to love people. He obviously wants both in my life right now. I will please people to the best of my ability, until it messes with loving and obeying God.