Letters    

THE CARE OF THE BODY

Dear T. A.                                                                                                            May 1, 1994

      In their book, Life and Epistles of St. Paul, Conybeare and Howson declare, "(The Greek sailors) were spectators of a worship which had no beneficial effect on their character" (p. 271). This certainly is true of most worship in our day.

     According to the Bible, "the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord..." (I Corinthians 6:13). The body of a man or a woman is neither designed nor intended for fornication. That is not the purpose for the body: it is rather created and designed "for the Lord."

     Yet, the argument so brazenly voiced in our day is, "It is my body", but this is not so. Man did not create his body, and, it rather belongs to Him who did. It belongs to the Lord, and is His by right of creation, providence, and salvation. For this reason, the Apostle begs us still, saying, "I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:1,2).

     When a society rejects the Lord, the degradation of womanhood, and of manhood is the result. This is seen by the corresponding disrespect for the body. While this will be evidenced by the increase of fornication, it will also be seen by the disfiguring of the body, and by dress.

      God told Israel, "They shall not ...make cuttings in their flesh" (Leviticus 21:5b). This is not, as some have maintained, a prohibition of surgery such as to remove a tooth, or a ruptured appendix. The context deals with the willful disfigurement of the body, and includes the piercing of the flesh in an attempt to make the body beautiful such as by piercing the ears. In our day, the sense of beauty has been so perverted as to include nose jewels, and the placing of body rings on the chest, in the navel, on the eye brow, etc. God says we are not to make "any cuttings in (the) flesh," that is, for cosmetic purposes, whether in the form of implants, "tummy" tucks," or face lifts. "Be content with such things as ye have" (Hebrews 13:5).

      Christians should not be so overcome with grief that they would make cuttings in their flesh "for the dead" (Leviticus 19:28b). They must not disfigure their body. "The body is ...for the Lord..." And, what more might be said of the heathen practice of mutilating females. "Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD" (Leviticus 19:28). God here forbids tattoos, the practice of printing marks upon the body. The body is to be left to its own unique beauty, unaltered by the skill of man.

      Included here is the prohibition against the modern practice of cutting the hair in such a fashion as to disfigure a person's appearance. This includes everything from the unisex appearance, to that which is weird; as well as the practice of "sculpturing" the hair to depict words, or figures. "They shall not make baldness upon the head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh" (Leviticus 21:5).

     The Word of God does not change with the times. The commandments of God are still current, and they will never cease to be current. The Apostle reasoned with first century Christians, saying, "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him" (I Corinthians 11:14)? Nature still teaches this fact, and it is a shame for a man to sport long hair. It is as effeminate on men today as it was on Absalom. It is shameful.

      It is also just as true in the 20th century as it was in the first century, that "If a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering" (I Corinthians 11:15). As it is a sign of effeminacy for a man to wear his hair long, so, it is a sign of masculinity, and not femininity, for a woman to wear her hair short or cropped. God has given women hair as their glory.

     When Isaiah wrote, "Make bare the leg, uncover the thigh ...thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen" (Isaiah 47:2b,3a), he wrote of the shame of the enslavement of Babylon on account of her cruel treatment of God's people. The baring of the leg, and the uncovering of the thigh is a thing of shame and humiliation practiced by conquerors over the conquered. What kind of woman is willing to do a shameful thing in order to attract attention to her body? Yet, how many Christians shamelessly dress in their shorts exposing their legs and their thighs! Such things ought not to be done. "The body is ...for the Lord."

     When Moses wrote, "The woman shall not wear that which pertains unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God" (Deuteronomy 22:5), was this not by divine inspiration? Has God annulled the commandment? Did God only intend it for Israel in ancient times?

     Since "No prophecy of the Scriptures is of any private interpretation" (II Peter 1:2a), Scripture must be interpreted in a manner consistent with the way believers have understood it throughout history. For example, John Gill a predecessor of Charles Spurgeon, and who was reputed to be the leading Hebraist of his day, understands the verse to prohibit a woman from wearing man's clothing, or to use the tools that a man uses in his trade. He states that a woman has no business doing the work of a man. In our day, we would add the exchanging of roles is here prohibited. There is to be no "Mr. Mom." However, a husband ought to be kind, and to help his wife when she is ill or especially tired, but he should not do so commonly.

     Gill cites Onkelos as pointing out that the Hebrew words "keli geber" signify "armor," and here women are prohibited from putting on military clothes and going with men to war. Josephus says, "Take heed, especially in war, that women do not make use of the habit of men ...." And, in his commentary on the Bible, Adam Clarke translates the words "keli geber" as "instruments, or arms of a man."

     Matthew Henry agrees, declaring the distinction between men and women should not be confused either by their hair or by their clothes. "(The verse) forbids the confounding of dispositions and affairs of the sexes: men must not be effeminate, nor do women's work in the house" (Remember when the military would fine a serviceman for pushing a baby carriage?), "nor must women be viragos—pretend to teach, or usurp authority."

     Yet, how many Christian women fearlessly break this commandment of God by dressing in slacks and pantsuits both of which "pertain" unto man's apparel. Every attempt to justify their ordinary use is a fraud; and women who wear them bend, stoop, and walk like men. They lose their womanly characteristics.

      The excessive use of jewelry is always associated in Scripture with apostasy. Hosea said it was in the days when Israel served Baalim that she "decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers" and forgot Him (Hosea 2:13). Isaiah describes the daughters of Zion, saying they were "haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: therefore, the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.

     "In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, the rings, and nose jewels, the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils.

     "And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty" (Isaiah 3:16-24).

    Some will charge us with "legalism," but this is the same charge that is leveled in every age by those who do not want to be obedient to the Word of God. After all is said and done, "The body is ...for the Lord;" and all Christians are to be good stewards of the body that God has given to them.

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