Paul continued to show that recognizing identity
did not impede equality and mutual dependence. God had created man to be a male
therefore he should look and function like it. And the woman was created out of
the man to be a woman, not another man. Thus a woman should look like a woman.
When she fails in her function, her contribution to provide balance to the
society would be curtailed. Hence, the woman should be willing to demonstrate
that she was not independent from her husband.
The puzzling part of verse 10 is: women were
told to function with a symbol of authority on their head because of the
angels. Why the angels? Most people assume that the angels here refer to
spiritual heavenly beings, but this word ‘angels’ could also be translated as messengers.
They need not be spiritual heavenly beings but human messengers. Could Paul be
referring to the fact that when a woman spoke, she would be a human messenger. She
should not do anything that would cause the people to be turned off from
hearing her. How she looked and act, mattered. To enhance her message, she
should not act independently from her husband.
In verses 11-12 Paul argued that husbands and wives should practice interdependence.
Neither should act independently of the other. They were created by God as
partners in a single unit. God made men and women with complementary functions.
When they function in what each was made for, they fulfilled God’s creative
design for their lives. Woman was created to give companionship to the man. If
instead of companionship, their activities made them competitors to the men, than
they would have failed in their God given design and purpose.
Verses 13-16 return to the issue of hair to sum up his argument. Paul
asked them to evaluate for themselves if it would be alright for a wife to pray
to God without considering her husband. To consider if it was alight for a man
to spot long hair over his shoulder and bring disgrace to himself. But a woman
with long hair is her glory. Her long hair is given to her as a covering. A woman
should use her hair to her advantage, to display her femininity and the
difference between herself and the man. For a man or a woman to bring confusion
to his or her identity is a shame.
We all need to know that in God’s creation order both man and woman have
specific roles. Wives should not seek to usurp the role of her husband and
husband should not relegate his role to his wife. They are complementary, hence
they should function interdependently at home and in church.
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