Pastors tell me it’s a sin to braid my hair, Aunty! What do you say?
3 February 2025 |
As an African lady I like to braid my hair. It’s practical: I’m a busy person, and it lets me look nice with minimum fuss. Yet some pastors here preach that it is a sin for women to braid their hair, giving as justification 1 Timothy 2:9. What do you think, Aunty?
Signed, Practical Girl
Dear Practical,
Aunty is sick and tired of men who think they get to tell women precisely what they should wear. Aunty can guarantee you: if there were a text addressed to men about how they weren’t to drive nice cars or follow sports teams or wear white shirts and fancy neckties, there would be whole books written about how those texts don’t really mean what they say. But a couple of brief mentions of hair braiding and jewelry justifies men’s dictating women’s appearance.
And that’s not even what the passage is about! It is about cultivating good character. The principle in 1 Timothy 2:9 is simple: make sure that, no matter how you wear your hair, your inner spiritual beauty outshines your outer beauty. It was never meant to say that for all of history God will be upset with women who braid their hair.
Adventist pastors: you claim to be exegetes of the Scripture. You do complex calculations from the prophecies that have little practical value. Yet when it comes to these brief texts—which are, I remind you, advice for women to follow, not for you to make them follow—the best you can come up with is to condemn women for braiding their hair or wearing earrings?
Some men say, “It’s about modesty. Women shouldn’t look so pretty that they tempt me.” Aunty isn’t sure why braiding your hair—or, for that matter, wearing tasteful jewelry—should tempt you. But remember this: temptation is in the tempted person, not the tempter. Men, if you find women’s appearance turns you on, then look away.
And if you really can’t control yourself, then take Matthew 18:9 as literally as you take 1 Timothy 2:9. But quit fussing about our appearance and take responsibility for your own sins.
Shaking my head,
Aunt Sevvy
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