Are Tattoos Okay For Christians?
Tattoos, should they be worn by Christians?
Should Christians get tattoos?
Tattoos are everywhere these days. It used to be that we would only
see tattoos on sailors, service men and bikers.
Now every one seems to have them from politicians to teachers, from
rock stars to celebrities. These days tattoos are the fashionable
thing to do because they have been forbidden for so long.
We see young preachers with tattoos of crosses and Jesus, who call
it a witnessing tool.
No matter what the tattoo depicts it is still a tattoo. Someone
still had to take a needle and use ink to draw on our bodies.
The world is full of people who have these markings on their arms,
backs, faces, legs and many other unmentionable places. The
Believers have joined the bandwagon, thinking it is cool and that
everyone is doing it.
We, as Believers, are not to be conformed to this world (Romans
12:1-2).
We are not to be conformed to their way of thinking. Not about
fashion. Not about sports. Not about politics. Not about tattoos.
Not about anything.
We are not to be followers but leaders. We are not to follow trends
but be trend setters.
Even to Believers, God's ways of thinking and doing things seem
backwards. They aren't, but we don't understand God's ways.
Instead we automatically do what we see our favorite celebrity
doing. What everyone else is doing.
We are called to be separate from the world. We are called to be
different.
More and more, though, the church and the people of God are looking
like the world in their speech, dress and activities.
If we look like carbon copies of the them, how will the world tell
what God has done in our lives?
We are not to be conformed to what the world is doing. We need to do
things according to the Word of the Most High God--the Bible.
What does the Bible say about tattoos?
It says we shouldn't mark or cut our bodies (Leviticus 19:28).
Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost (I Corinthians 6:19). It
is where the Holy Spirit lives (Romans 8:9).
Just as we wouldn't defile or mark on the outside of a church
building, we shouldn't mark the outside of the real temple of the
Holy Spirit--us.
Imagine all the ways, though, that we do defile the temple of the
Holy Spirit through what we say, think and put into our bodies. Not
to mention what we do to them when we do drugs, drink to excess or
are promiscuous.
When we conform to the world, to their fashion, to their movies and
their way of thinking, our boundaries between right and wrong become
blurred.
Little by little, we move the line of what used to be right and
wrong just a little further into their territory.
Now we are watching things we used to think were wrong. We are
listening to music we used to object to. We are doing things that we
would have never done before. The boundaries between right and wrong
are harder to distinguish.
We have to pay attention to what we are watching, what we are
reading, what we are listening to, who we are hanging around. These
factors will determine what our life will be like and whether our
boundaries will be blurred.
We need to use the Bible as our moral compass. It should be the
final authority in our lives. What it says is the final answer.
Learn to follow its direction.
Consequences of tattoos:
When persons get a tattoo, some consequences can occur.
Every time you are given a tattoo your blood is spilt, and the
spilling of your blood can allow for you to be become influence or
possessed by demons, since these tattoo practitioners are sometimes
involved in the occult.
If we don't go to
a reputable place, we can be injected by a dirty needle. We can be
infected with AIDS or hepatitis. The tattoo could get infected. We
could be allergic to the ink they use in the tattoo.
Once we are tattooed, we have ink flowing through our blood. Even if
we have it removed, we will still have a flesh outline of where the
tattoo once was, and we will still have ink in our blood.
If we want to be in a professional job, or any job dealing with the
public, we will have to wear clothes that cover up the tattoo(s).
Jobs of this nature require it.
We are called to be salt (Matthew 5:13) and light (Matthew 5:14) to
a dying world, and we are called to be an example to them. We must
show them that godly living--good, clean living--can be prosperous
and fun.
They must see something different about us--about the way we act,
talk, walk and conduct ourselves. We need to let God shine through
us.
We are God's ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) to the world, who are
craving and seeking something that will fill the void in their
lives. We are to be that light. The example that brings them into
God's kingdom.
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Annagail Lynes is the author of The Heart of God Devotional, along
with many other e-books. To sign up for her free weekly ezine with
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