Through the Bible – Day 241

₂₃Some of you say, “We can do whatever we want to!” But I tell you that not everything may be good or helpful. ₂₄We should think about others and not about ourselves. ₂₅However, when you buy meat in the market, go ahead and eat it. Keep your conscience clear by not asking where the meat came from. ₂₆The Scriptures say, “The earth and everything in it belong to the Lord.”

₂₇If an unbeliever invites you to dinner, and you want to go, then go. Eat whatever you are served. Don't cause a problem for someone's conscience by asking where the food came from. _28-29But if you are told that it has been sacrificed to idols, don't cause a problem by eating it. I don't mean a problem for yourself, but for the one who told you. Why should my freedom be limited by someone else's conscience? ₃₀If I give thanks for what I eat, why should anyone accuse me of doing wrong?

₃₁When you eat or drink or do anything else, always do it to honour God. ₃₂Don't cause problems for Jews or Greeks or anyone else who belongs to God's church. ₃₃I always try to please others instead of myself, in the hope that many of them will be saved.

₁You must follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

₂I am proud of you, because you always remember me and obey the teachings I gave you. ₃Now I want you to know that Christ is the head over all men, and a man is the head over a woman. But God is the head over Christ. ₄This means that any man who prays or prophesies with something on his head brings shame to his head.

₅But any woman who prays or prophesies without something on her head brings shame to her head. In fact, she may as well shave her head. ₆A woman should wear something on her head. It is a disgrace for a woman to shave her head or cut her hair. But if she refuses to wear something on her head, let her cut off her hair.

₇Men were created to be like God and to bring honour to God. This means that a man should not wear anything on his head. Women were created to bring honour to men. ₈It was the woman who was made from a man, and not the man who was made from a woman. ₉He wasn't created for her. She was created for him. ₁₀And so, because of this, and also because of the angels, a woman ought to wear something on her head, as a sign of her authority.

₁₁As far as the Lord is concerned, men and women need each other. ₁₂It is true that the first woman came from a man, but all other men have been given birth by women. Yet God is the one who created everything. ₁₃Ask yourselves if it is proper for a woman to pray without something on her head. ₁₄Isn't it unnatural and disgraceful for men to have long hair? ₁₅But long hair is a beautiful way for a woman to cover her head. ₁₆This is how things are done in all God's churches, and that's why none of you should argue about what I have said.