Monday, April 11, 2011
My men's pastor has written a very helpful post on the topic of Christians getting tattoos. You can read it here. I would add a couple small things.
1) I would go beyond point 11 and ask if getting at tattoo would honor their parents, even if obeying them is no longer an issue. Even if you're 39 and haven't lived with your parents for two decades, if they have a low view of tattoos and have verbalized this to you previously, would getting a tattoo dishonor them or have the potential for appearing to be in rebellion toward their wishes? If so, then you must have a really really good reason to ignore their wishes or you should abstain (even if you can answer the rest of the points well and Biblically).
2) Anyone thinking about getting a tattoo should not only consider the 16 points given above, but should also ponder long and hard the question of "why am I truly wanting a tattoo?" The heart is deceitful, after all. Is it merely a coincidence that tons of your friends are getting them because it is the cool thing to do and because the culture says that it is cool, or have you unwittingly become conformed to culture and peer pressure? It doesn't necessarily make it wrong that convicts, hip hop artists, and sports stars (oops, that's kinda redundant, isn't it?) are the primary people to be covering their bodies in tattoos, but it should make every faithful Christian pause. In 1 Peter 3, Christian women were warned to avoid the cultural trappings of fine jewelry and clothing and elaborate hairstyles and instead base their beauty and "coolness" on their inner Spirit-filled self. I believe Peter's words could well apply to the topic of tattoos.
1) I would go beyond point 11 and ask if getting at tattoo would honor their parents, even if obeying them is no longer an issue. Even if you're 39 and haven't lived with your parents for two decades, if they have a low view of tattoos and have verbalized this to you previously, would getting a tattoo dishonor them or have the potential for appearing to be in rebellion toward their wishes? If so, then you must have a really really good reason to ignore their wishes or you should abstain (even if you can answer the rest of the points well and Biblically).
2) Anyone thinking about getting a tattoo should not only consider the 16 points given above, but should also ponder long and hard the question of "why am I truly wanting a tattoo?" The heart is deceitful, after all. Is it merely a coincidence that tons of your friends are getting them because it is the cool thing to do and because the culture says that it is cool, or have you unwittingly become conformed to culture and peer pressure? It doesn't necessarily make it wrong that convicts, hip hop artists, and sports stars (oops, that's kinda redundant, isn't it?) are the primary people to be covering their bodies in tattoos, but it should make every faithful Christian pause. In 1 Peter 3, Christian women were warned to avoid the cultural trappings of fine jewelry and clothing and elaborate hairstyles and instead base their beauty and "coolness" on their inner Spirit-filled self. I believe Peter's words could well apply to the topic of tattoos.
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1 comments:
I think most tattoos are hideous and I have no desire to ever get one, though I have to admit it seemed like the author of that post was over-analyzing a little bit. I wouldn't say tattoos are harmless, but some of the reasons seem to go a bit far. That said, he also had some FANTASTIC point that some people would greatly benefit from considering.
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