Ok, something has been bothering me, especially as I see my pre-teen daughter focusing so much on her hair in front of the mirror as she gets ready to go to church: women’s hairstyles seem to matter WAAAAAAY too much (as does clothing, name brands, etc.) in the Apostolic Pentecostal church today. We preach modesty in dress, but what about modesty in the aspect of hairdos as well? What about the Bible telling women not to broid their hair with gold and elaborate hairdos?
We shake our fingers (figuratively, of course) towards others for wearing even a small necklace or earrings – but we think it’s ok to put a fancy gold hair clip, beaded & dangling hair sticks, or other hair “jewelry” in our hair – and many women in the church are now adding fake hair pieces (not out of necessity due to balding, but due to vanity) . . . it’s RIDICULOUS! The latest: I have seen mothers putting fake hair pieces on their little girls! How sad is that? (Sorry, but it kind of makes me think of Jonbenet Ramsey & all those little girls in beauty pageants… we simply want them to grow up TOO FAST in our society. The church should be their safe haven!)
I’ve seen women work on their hair for more than an HOUR (literally) getting ready to go to a church service and I think to myself, “If she had spent this extra time praying instead of primping, how much more of GOD we’d feel in our services?”
If a woman is fixing her hair in an elaborate hairdo as to make others think she is beautiful as opposed to fixing it in a neat, becoming way that is modest, how can we possibly consider that acceptable in the church? I tell my own daughters that if someone notices their beautiful outfit or their elaborately done hairdo before they notice the Holy Ghost glow within them or see their good works toward mankind, they have their priorities ALL WRONG.
It’s my personal opinion that this vanity withour hair is one of the reasons the Lord tells us to cover it, because women (by nature itself) feel a certain pride about their long, beautiful hair. It is our glory, after all, isn’t it? But aren’t we supposed to give God the glory in all things? (And don’t give me the ol’ “ How will others know about our glory if they can’t see it? Isn’t it SUPPOSED to show?” My answer is a resounding, “NO!” – our hair is our glory because of our obedience to the Lord by not cutting it and by being a part of His divine & proper order. The Lord himself makes it our glory, it is not by any work of our own, and you can be SURE it isn’t dependent upon how we fix it or how nice it looks. It IS OUR GLORY because God says so. PERIOD.)
The Bible doesn’t say we need to show or flaunt our glory, isn’t it enough for us to know we have this wonderful glory & then glorify the Lord by wearing it modestly as not to being attention to ourselves & our own beauty? Not to mention the pride that wells up within us if our hair is done in a particularly beautiful hairdo.
Don’t get me wrong, I think keeping yourself clean, neat, and presentable is essential, but I go to church (and especially to larger church conferences) and it seems it’s all about who can outdo whom in the hairdo department. It’s not a SOCIAL EVENT or a HAIRDO COMPETITION, ladies! We should strive for humility in all areas of our lives, including our hair.
Forget about your hairdo for a few days. Spend the extra time praying. Then go do something kind for someone else who needs it – without them even KNOWING it was you who did it. See how much better it makes you feel and how much more God will bless you!
Mary Montgomery said,
March 12, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Aren’t we just funny the lot of us? I think we wear something on our heads so the angels will know for sure who they can laugh at. Oh must go- mascarra needs touching up! But I do get the point and you have made it very well—-blessings from an old fool for HIM.
Tammy said,
March 26, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Very true.
Dawn said,
April 7, 2009 at 9:35 am
Oh I know exactly what you mean Sister! I got saved in a Holiness church and I remember going to the nationwide conferences and sitting on my bunk bed in the girls dorm room watching as the ladies stood for an hour or more with the curling iron or rolling their hair in curlers, hair spray it to death, shove about 200 bobby pins in the mess ever so meticulously, and there I was with a simple braid or my hair in a pony tail.
I remember this one sister at the conference, her hair went down to her ankles…seriously…it was beautiful. She never bothered to fry her hair with curling irons or rollers, but instead her hour or hour and a half was spent braiding and securing her mane on the top of her head, and it wasn’t done it vanity or pride. She would sit there on her bed talking away with us while her fingers worked away on her hair.
Glad those days are over and now it only takes me 2 minutes to roll my hair in a bun and 5 seconds to put my covering on.
Blessings,
Dawn
sasha said,
April 11, 2009 at 5:03 am
that really convicted me. i mean i dont wear my hair too fancy at all but i kno wat u mean,
when i go to a conference its all just a bunch of hair
/.///
its a fashion show!
thats why i just put my hair in a pony tail at conferences cus at altar call i always get drunk and mess it up ne ways!!
so at the end of it all….i know whoever has the perfectest hair didnt pray good!
!!
Kristi said,
June 14, 2009 at 12:50 am
Wow, I guess I’m one of the young girls you are talking about, and I’ve never even though about it! I can take up to an hour fixing my hair and I’m always worried about looking not only looking my best but better than everyone else as well!! You’ve hit the nail on the head! Good for you!! You speak truth sister! God bless you, I think you have just changed my life, and maybe even saved my soul!! With love, your sister in the lord, Kristi
Tina said,
August 1, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Well, I agree with you with the jewlery etc…in the hair. But I don’t see anything wrong with wearing it up in a nice style, and it takes me maybe an hour to do my hair only because I’m not that well at doing my own hair, so it takes longer.
Abby said,
August 5, 2009 at 2:19 pm
I had a discussion like this a few weeks ago with my boyfriend’s mom, who has been in the church for 4 years (I’ve been in for a year tomorrow!) She has conviction over wearing glittery, fancy clips and such in her hair because she feels it is adornment as much as wearing necklaces and bracelets are. She just does a simple ponytail or bun with a scrunchie and thats all, and I agree with her. Many of the girls in my church do extensive hairstyles with a million shiny clips and I fear for them. So thank you for addressing such an underdiscussed topic. God bless you!
Madison said,
August 17, 2009 at 9:17 am
Oh Sister, you are so right!!! I see so many young girls (teens, myself) in the Apostolic Pentecostal church I attend spending hours and hours on a hairdo!!! One girl who was raised in the church was actually obsessed with her hair. I guess she was… 13, 14, and her hair was down to her calfs and she would spend hours on end with it. Literally. One Sunday after Sunday School she called me into the bathroom with her complaining that she hadn’t gotten her full TWO HOURS to spend on her hair that morning, and it was falling, and she needed me to take the pins out of my hair and give them to her so hers would stay up in this massive beehive look. It was really insane. Personally, for me, my hair is down to the bottoms of my knees and I always have a new style everyday. It may not be new, but I don’t wear the same one everyday. I set aside about 5-7 minutes in the mornings to do my hair. r because God just might take it away from you if you are not careful!!
God Bless you all, Sisters in the Lord Jesus!!! -Sister Madison
heather said,
September 7, 2009 at 5:52 pm
i agree, i do fix my hair nice and modest along with my daughters hair. when i go anywhere i dont want people to say “she must be pentecostal, look at her hair” i want them to say WOW, look at the glow and the spirit of that woman she is filled with the Holy Ghost. nice hair is one thing but if you notice my hair before my spirit or heart than something is wrong. there are a lot of women that cover their true colors with big,nice hair and fancy clothes, but deep down their spirit is WRONG.
Synthia said,
November 16, 2009 at 12:24 pm
I have only been saved for 8 months now and I never heard it put that way. As a matter of fact I was online looking up pentacostal hairdos when I came across this. My hair is about to my waistline and I spend to much time on my hair. I wasn’t raised up in pentacostal so this is all new to me. But, I have to say that I agree with u on this it sounds like u know what ur talking about. Thank u for the insight.
torrance said,
November 19, 2009 at 8:03 pm
You’re right. Last night was deeper life conference and i didn’t take notice of it before but it is becoming all about the hair, myself included. Thank you for speaking your mind (:.