Getting A Return

What do you get out of wearing a Christian Head Covering? What are the benefits of wearing a Christian Head Covering?

Humanity doesn't like to do something that doesn't reward them in some way, shape, or form. We like to get a return on the investment of our time, our money, our effort. In fact, one of the more popular teachings - seed-faith giving, is just that ... the idea that we if spend every dime we have tithing it to God now, then he will reward our obedience ten-fold in the future. For some of us, it looks like a 'get out of Jail free' ticket, for others, miraculous healing, or having our debts wiped out.  While we're okay with the idea of getting something for nothing, we're not fans of the idea that what we do has no value and will not be rewarded.

I remember reading about the issue that women's head coverings presented Puritan churches when women would frequently fall asleep during the services and it became difficult to tell the difference between a sleeping woman or one in deep prayer. I saw another woman mention that her hat afforded her protection from the glaring lights overhead, making the words of the Bible easier to read. For some, church buildings tend to run a little cold and hat keeps the head and the body that much warmer. For others, the ability to hide one's headphones allows them to get away with listening to music instead of the preaching. There are probably numerous practical ways that wearing a head covering could be useful.

But none of these things explain the spiritual benefits of head coverings. Like protection from demons. One would expect that all those women who don't wear head coverings to be plagued by demon attacks. But we don't see that. Or God's reward for obedience. One would expect that all those women who don't wear head covering to be walking examples of punishment as a result of disobedience - being made ill, becoming weak, or dropping dead. But we don't see that. Or extra-blessed prayers, maybe even a record for having the most prayers answered or the best prayers answered or a streak for the number of prayers answered in a row. One would expect to see that all those women who don't wear head coverings to be totally ignored - striking out on prayers. But we don't see that. Or super-blessed marriages, some sign that wearing a head covering improves a wife's submissiveness and is the reason her marriage is so awesome. One would expect to see that all those women who don't wear head coverings to have terrible marriages. But we don't see that.

If wearing a head covering is a "I'll keep up my end of the bargain, you keep up your end of the bargain God and we'll both be happy" sort of deal, there's really not a lot of evidence that shows it has a proven track recording of keeping its promises. At most, we have individual accounts like: "I feel so blessed when I wear my head covering." "I feel God smiling on my obedience." "I just know he really hears my prayers." The same thing can be said from the lips of women who don't wear head coverings. Really, there seem to be no difference between head covering women and non-head covering women.

So I don't get it. Are there any benefits to wearing a Christian head covering? What are they? How can you know that you are receiving the proper benefits?