After my last post, I thought I would share my thoughts on tattoos. My dear friend posted a comment about them defacing the body. Not sure I agree. I’m not trying to argue or change her mind, but I do believe this topic is a hot one among Christians. Some camps say yes. Some say only a “Christian” symbol of a certain size. Some say no, never ever. I do think there is a Scripture in the Old Testament that can be interpreted to mean no tattoos. However we can get really legalistic with our answers here.
So many things we do to our bodies could be defacing them. Earrings. Belly rings. Plastic surgery. Obesity. Self-tanning lotion. Coloring grey hair. And there are different cultures in the world that do things Americans don’t do, such as put huge plates or rings in their lower lips. Ouch!
To my understanding, there are no rules about this in the Bible. And I am glad.
Do I think that gives me the freedom to walk around with all my parts hanging out? No. I prefer to set an example for my daughter of what I consider decent attire. But I will say at one point I did. I was young and hungry for male attention. And I got it already. But it didn’t satisfy me. What I really wanted was to be known for who I am as a person. Not by my measurements.
James 2 talks about us not showing favoritism to the rich man versus the poor one. I think this also applies to the person full of rainbow colored tats. I love the end of verse 13, which says, “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” Also Galatians 2:6 says, “God does not judge by external appearance.” God looks at the heart.
I tend to have more compassion on the person who looks different because I’ve always felt different inside. And how do I know that the woman dressed in barely anything isn’t someone who just got out of the porn industry and doesn’t have any full size clothes to wear yet? I have a friend who knew someone with this story. How do I know she hasn’t been sexually abused like me and thinks her looks determine her worth? How do I know that the person with numerous piercings isn’t wanting to give themselves exterior pain to transfer the pain from his heart to his skin, if even for a moment? There’s just no way to know or judge the motives of someone else’s heart. Even of another Christ follower.
Another chunk of Scripture that releases me from judging others is 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1. Here’s the beginning. “Everything is permissible–but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible–but not everything is constructive.” Tattoos and clothing fit into this category for me. I’m okay with the differences among us.
I believe as we grow closer to God, he first cleans up our insides–and in many causes like mine, the outside follows. My insides need constant cleansing to see life through merciful eyes.
(This photo is of a drawing by teen boy in jail. He drew it for my husband. My husband leads a Bible study with about a dozen teen boys. What talent hidden inside a criminal!)
**PS my friend, I still love you and our differences. They challenge me.**
Go, girl. Ditto everything. You’ve done a great job of covering the issues here, trying to be balanced in looking at what scripture says. Freedom in Christ is an amazing gift; it may be a lifetime task to learn how to receive it.
Wow. You are right and I love posts like this that make me think. Thanks!
Tiffany,
I think it is so neat how you write regarding such controversial issues. I truly believe we can waste so much time and energy on our judgements of others. I do think that we can easily look at someone’s outer appearance and make so many assumptions when we don’t know their heart nor their situation. In my opinion, anything we do to enhance our outer appearance is a personal decision. Just like you said, there are so many cultures and ways people express beauty. However,if whatever I do to enhance myself becomes a stumbling block for myself or for my sweet daughter then I ought to consider carefully if it is truly beneficial. Thankfully, God’s vision of us is so much deeper then what we see. He sees what truly matters and it is our heart.
Tiffany, I wrote my own blog post about “appearances” today. Your blog and Mary DeMuth’s both had me thinking a lot about this topic this week!