1 Corinthians 11:1

1 Corinthians 11:1 says, Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.  I believe that Paul was asking those early believers to follow his example of living by faith.  He had already said that they were not to be divided by considering being led to Christ by one person was more important than being led to Christ by another.  I don't believe he was saying they were to put their faith in Paul, but they were to follow his example of living faithful to Christ.  Verse two adds, Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.  Paul had been writing about some of the controversies that existed in the church, but here he praised them for what they were doing correctly.  We need to uplift our fellow Christians when they are doing the right things for God, and not just look for reasons to condemn them for doing things that we view as wrong.  As long as they are truly saved by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, we need to uplift them.  In these next few verses, Paul writes about the relationship between men and women, or more specifically between a husband and wife, under the leadership of God.  Even those who profess to take the Bible literally generally say these verses are not to be taken literally today.  This is also why some claim that Paul looked at women as being less important, or under the power or authority of men.  We must remember though that both men and women were seen as being under the authority of God.  As long as any relationship is under God's authority, then there should be no controversy about how things work out in this world.  Verse three continues, But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.  Paul first pointed to Christ as being the head of the relationship.  If we base the relationship between a man and a woman on anything other than both being under the Lordship of Christ, we create unnecessary problems. Verse four states, Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.  Paul was addressing some of the views about the way people were to dress in that day.  He said for a man to pray or prophecy with his head covered dishonored God.  We can take this verse literally or we can view it as Paul addressing the view of the world in that day.  I personally do not believe that we need to be concerned with the way people dress, as long as it does not distract from our witness for Christ.  We know that in parts of the world today the way that people dress, especially the women, is very important to some religions.  We need to remember that Paul was addressing things that might interfere with our witness for Christ, and not a dress code for Christians.  Verse five adds, But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.  Paul said that if a woman prayed or prophesied with her head uncovered, she was attempting to take the position of a man. We must acknowledge that God does give a man and a woman differing roles in their relationship to each other under the leadership of Christ.  Ultimately, the responsibility of the spiritual wellbeing of the family falls on the man.  He is not to be a dictator, but an obedient servant of Christ.  When the relationship is truly placed under the control of Christ, there will be no disputes about leadership.  Christ is the leader of the Christian home.  Verse six continues, For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.  Now, do we take this literally to still apply today, or do we take it as a cultural custom of that day?  Some religions today still make a woman having her head, and sometimes her face, covered in public a requirement, but I don't really believe that is what God expects.  I do believe that he expects both men and women to dress appropriately, but I personally do not believe we apply this teaching literally.  I believe Paul made these statements based on the way the world would view the man and woman.  They were to do nothing to dishonor each other or God.  Verse seven concludes, For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.  Here, we could take the literal interpretation and say that man is somehow closer to God than a woman can ever be, but when we look at the teachings of the whole Bible, we know that with God there is no male or female when it comes to a relationship with Him.