1 Corinthians 11:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him,

NIV: Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him,

NASB: Does even nature itself not teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him,

CSB: Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair it is a disgrace to him,

NLT: Isn’t it obvious that it’s disgraceful for a man to have long hair?

KJV: Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?

NKJV: Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him?

Paul makes one final argument to support his teaching that the women in the Corinthian church should wear a head covering when praying or prophesying in church. This time, he points to the example of nature, not theology. Nature itself teaches, Paul says, that long hair is a disgrace if worn by a man.

Two things should be noted: When Paul says "nature," he seems to mean how most people naturally wear their hair in society, at large. Hair grows the same rate on the heads of men and women, after all. But throughout time and culture, most men in most places have short hair. Or, at least, shorter hair than women. This was especially true in the Roman empire. The other truth is that the term "short" is relative. The shortest haircuts for men in the modern era involve shaving the head bald or close to it. Men of some Greek cultures often wore hair that modern people would consider "long." In general, though, men wear their hair shorter than most women, in most cultures, without being forced to do so. For Paul, this was evidence of God's design for men to leave their heads "uncovered" to better reflect the glory of God.

More generally, the principle Paul speaks to here is the same as that laid out in prior verses. Each culture interprets physical appearances to have certain meanings. In that era, a woman's uncovered head was something intimate and even sexual. Modern people have drastically different applications of that idea, but based those on the same principle. If society "naturally" interprets something as sexually suggestive, it's inappropriate for a Christian gathering.

The same applies to gender roles: though the details change by culture, men ought to look "like men" and women ought to look "like women" (1 Corinthians 6:9).

First Corinthians 11:2–16 describes Paul's correction of an inappropriate practice of some women in the Corinthian church. Contrary to social norms of that era, they were not wearing head coverings when praying or prophesying before the church. Paul insists that both women and men consider what their chosen appearance implies about their relationship with God. Cultural details may vary, but the principle does not: Christian men and women ought to be ''respectable'' in their manners and dress. In parallel, this teaching also touches on the concept of spiritual leadership.

Paul confronts two issues the church in Corinth was failing to practice correctly. First, some women were not wearing head coverings while praying or prophesying in their meetings. Paul insisted they must do so, and that men must not, based on mankind's relationship to God and the social implications of that covering. Second, Paul describes the reasons for observing the Lord's Supper and how it should be done. The Corinthian Christians had brought God's judgment on themselves for practicing communion in a way which dishonored Christ's sacrifice for sin and humiliated the poor among them.

After concluding his teaching on meat offered to idols, Paul turns to two issues the church in Corinth was getting wrong. The first was head coverings when praying or prophesying in their meetings. Differences between men and women in that regard are because of both spiritual and social reasons. Paul also corrects the disastrous way in which they were practicing the observance of the Lord's Supper. They were dishonoring Christ's sacrifice for sin as well as the poor in the body of Christ, the church. Despite having more to say on communion, Paul will move on to the topic of spiritual gifts in chapter 12.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.