While out walking, we met, greeted and walked on past a lady who suddenly tripped over the little dog scampering at her feet, causing her to fall face first on the hard street surface. Hearing the commotion, we quickly returned to find her obviously in pain from landing on her shoulder. It was very evident that she could not be moved safely, so someone from the now-gathered bystanders called 911.
When the firemen and emergency medical technician (EMT) with their ambulance arrived, and after assessing the immediate problem, they administered pain meds so she could be moved and loaded into the ambulance with a minimum amount of discomfort.
While waiting for the medications to take effect, Andy asked if she would like him to pray for her, to which she gratefully agreed. Before he could utter his first words of prayer, the two attending firemen/EMTs had already whipped off their caps and stood motionless with their heads bowed.
Respect — not for the man praying, because after all, he was only a man; not for prayer, it in itself isn’t what demands respect, but for God, The Creator and Healer of everything.
The scriptures say in I Cor. 11:7 for men to remove their head covering when addressing our God, and these firemen, even while standing in the middle of a city street and doing their job, did just that in respect for Him.
So, here is my observation and my question: I see men in so many churches where we go, who wear a head covering in the form of a ball cap or any other headgear, while in a worship service. Unfortunately, some will actually be on the platform leading worship, still wearing a hat of some kind. Now, if we are in a worship service, aren’t we addressing our God as we praise and worship Him?
Why are we seeing this? Either I have sadly misread my Bible, or some males in our current times have chosen to ignore Biblical instruction, or they have never been told what the Bible says about men and headgear in church.
This may seem trivial to some readers, who see this as being picky and critical. Could be. I freely admit that I could be wrong, and you certainly do have the right to believe as you choose, as does anyone. However, more important than what you or I believe, what does God say? What does He expect from us?
Firemen, while doing their jobs, did it out of respect for their God, but some church-going men while in church — they don’t. Seems to this writer that something sure seems out of kelter here.
Andy E. Bowman has been a Southern Baptist pastor in Oklahoma and Florida for more than 30 years. Recently medically retired from that field, he and his wife Renie now author the column “Coffeetime with Brother Andy,” writing on currently relevant topics from a conservative and humorous viewpoint. The new “Coffeetime With Andy and Renie Podcast” can be found at www.coffeetimecolumn.com or your favorite podcaster site.
