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Monday, April 23, 2012

Tattoos

Tattoos. Tricky little buggers.

Because this post is a slightly longer, I have divided it into two parts. In Part One, I work through the Biblical evidence and come to a conclusion on whether or not tattoos are Biblically permissible. In Part Two, I give advice that is hopefully helpful in rightly processing the decision to get a tattoo, keeping in mind other biblical evidence.

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Part 1

Last semester, I gave particular thought to this issue which consequently gave me fits. I grew up hearing that the tattoo is one of the most ostentatious forms of sin and rebellion, but then I started to meet wonderfully passionate, spirit-filled, God-loving, and truth-grounded brothers and sisters that do not have any qualms about tattoos at all. This was one of my biggest problems: if someone who gets a tattoo is living in sin, why do they experience so much joy and blessing from God? God doesn't reward rebellion, right?

The only verse used as an objection to tattoos (that I can take seriously) is Leviticus 19:28:
"You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the LORD"
You could point to this verse and say to me, "God said it, I believe it, that settles it." Well, you could be right. I don't want to miss what is happening here, and I certainly don't want to read my preferred interpretation into what the author originally meant. But to give some context, here are the two verses directly preceding verse 28:
"(26) You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. (27) You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes. You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard."
Interesting. Three verses in a row that seem to have nothing to do with each other; one of which is a command concerning explicit directions for facial hair style. We could continue interpreting these verses "literally" (in isolation) in the way that forbids eating any beef that is not well-done, any beard that has sharp edges on it, any tattoos, or any self-inflicted lacerations; but I want to suggest that there is something else going on here. Not only that, but you will be hard-pressed to find someone who does not contradict those commands, taken "literally", as they say. Most Christians don't have a problem eating meat with blood still in it (Leviticus 19:26). Most Christians do not have a problem wearing clothes that are made of two different kinds of material (Leviticus 19:19). Most Christians do not have a problem with a bag that contains weight of two different measure (Deuteronomy 25:13). So why balk at tattoos all of a sudden?

I think it's OK to eat meat, wear Under Armour, and shave your beard however you prefer. The reason I see these things is permissible is because of what I see the author of Leviticus/Deuteronomy actually prohibiting. In each of the verses that prohibit strange things, the stated truth directly correlates to either a heart issue or pagan worship. For example, the command to not carry a bag with two different weights in it was given so that there would be no opportunity to weigh a scale in one's particular favor. It wasn't the carrying of the weights in and of itself that was the sinful action, but it was a prohibition of one behavior in order to uphold justice in the Jewish community. Similarly, the only way I can make sense of the strange meat and the beard law is by saying that verses 26 and 27 of Leviticus 19 seem to be talking about worshipping false gods, because of the phrase which prohibits interpreting omens or telling fortunes. It only seems to be reasonable that the connection remains intact for verse 28.

I read an article where the author said that cuts on the body might be permissable if they weren't for the dead (seriously?), but the verse concludes with "or tattoo yourselves," and is to be understood as an unqualified prohibition. To this, I respond that considering the natures of verses 26 and 27, it would be  inconsistent to use such a hermeneutic here and in the other aforementioned passages, unless one was willing to also not eat meat with blood in it and forsake two-fibered clothing.

In conclusion: through examining these texts, I believe that the Bible does not forbid tattoos.

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Part 2

You might think that I am advocating that everyone should get a tattoo. Though I believe that getting one is Biblically permissible, I do not think that everyone should get one carte blanche. There are some major things to consider, as the tattooing process is fairly permanent, and also quite expensive.

Here is my list of three pieces of criterion--in ascending order of importance--for deciding whether or not a tattoo is a wise (or, at least, not unwise) decision.

4) Where's my heart?
3) Am I being a good steward concerning this purchase?
2) What will be communicated with the artwork and placement of this tattoo?
1) What will my future (or current) spouse think about it?

4 - The first step in any significant purchase or major decision should be a look inside your heart. Ask yourself, "What about this is appealing to me?" As I've said a few times, I don't think tattoos are anti-Biblical, but your motives might be. While it's not necessarily wrong to get something done because it looks cool (you dress a certain way because you think it looks cool or fashionable), your heart might be one that wants to attract attention to yourself, for the sake of attracting attention. This is something that you will have to discern on your own; there is no 'right answer' for everyone, and you must take into serious consideration your own motives and bring them before the Lord in prayer and through your time in communion with Him, praying for humility to make the choice that will make Him look as good as possible.

3 - Tattoos are expensive; good ones are, that is. But if you have saved money and are being financially responsible in other areas of your life, then go for it.

2 - You might have an idea of what the tattooed word or picture means to you personally. The place on your body has also, most likely, been chosen for a reason. Ask your peers, but go to the spiritual leaders in your life, people that you think see the issues very clearly, and ask if you are missing something in this regard; what you might view as benign and harmless could very well be an unwise decision because of the association with either the design of the tattoo or its placement on your body.

To the ladies: while I by no means believe that tattoos are wrong, I do want to reiterate an obvious truth: if you write something on your skin, people will look. Consider the place that you want it, and think about whether or not you will be comfortable walking around downtown Acmeville having that particular part of your body looked at by strangers. It takes wisdom; and oftentimes when we set our minds to do something, we are not easily persuaded against it. I want to encourage you to think critically and understand that here, as always, there is a wiser choice and a more foolish choice to be made.

To the men: bros, come on. There are certain tattoos that can look cool and even start good conversations, but there are many, many, many tattoos that make you look like a total idiot. I offer the same advice to you; go to someone(s) that you trust to see these issues clearly, and be willing to be wrong. Be humble enough to have someone(s) tell you that you look insanely dumb. If that is the case, then for our sake and yours, don't do it!

1 - This last piece is the best encouragement that I can offer. 1 Corinthians 7:4 says:
"For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does." 
The best and most helpful piece of advice that I heard when asking for wisdom concerning this topic was the simply question, "David, if your wife were standing here, would she want you to get this tattoo?" I am not in a relationship and I have no idea who I'm going to marry, so I can't give an honest answer one way or the other; therefore, I personally shouldn't get a tattoo at this point in my life. If by the time I'm married I still want a tattoo (which I probably won't), I can ask my wife if she's OK with it. If she is, then awesome. If she isn't, well, I have my answer.

Then of course, there's the question of whether or not you'll still want that faded ink on your stretched out flappy skin in 35 years, but that's another question that you are going to need to deal with on your own.

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I hope this slightly longer post has been helpful in wrestling through the texts and trying to rightly discern the Biblical account with an understanding of basic, conventional wisdom.

In the end/beginning/all-the-time, praying about it never hurts either.

God is our hope.

.DSN.

Monday, April 9, 2012

My First Black Coffee

Saturday night, Easter Eve, I had my first cup of black coffee. It was an accident.

I was sitting outside with a few friends from BCS, and we were circled around a merciless campfire. It was one of those nights when to be warm enough, I had come dangerously near to the heat. However, because it had been burning for awhile and the wind had been throwing around the ashes, it was impossible to get warm enough without getting my eyes stung or my clothes ash-ridden.

My solution for my coldness? Some hot coffee.

It did not occur to me that there was neither any cream or sugar outside; everyone else that had coffee was drinking it as black as the night sky. So, our host poured me a cup, and handed it to me (as a reasonable human being would do). I stared at my mug, somewhat dumbfounded, because when I asked for coffee, for some reason, I did not expect to drink it black.

Anyway, I told everyone that I had never had a cup of black coffee before. Being jeered and laughed at, I realized that I would need to eventually have a sip of this strange liquid. So I did.

What happened that day changed my life. It was above averagely bitter. Strangely bitter. It was also above averagely good. Strangely good.

I thought to myself, "Huh. Life's kinda like that, isn't it."

Life is like that. Life is like black coffee. Life with Jesus is not easy. Life with a conscience is not easy. Living a life convicted of sin is never easy.

But it is good. It is really good; or in the words of Nacho (albeit mildly sarcastic),
...My life is good! Really good! I get to wake up every morning, at 5AM, and make some soup! It's the best. I love it.
Nacho is right. My life is the best. I do love it; if life is cup of bitter black coffee, it serves the purpose of propelling us through the day to get to the Great Dessert (heaven)! Just like with the night at the campfire, a life of black coffee is not the first thing I would naturally choose, but if it had not been sovereignly put in my path, I would not have been and currently be exploded with the amazing goodness of the thing!

In honesty, it will probably be bitter. Life is often bitter. But if that bitterness is accompanied with the understanding that God is actually making you look more like Jesus in the process (Romans 8), such an understanding should make it all the more easier to see and savor the goodness of the black coffee God gives you to drink.

But looking back at life in all honesty, the coffee we drink and think is so unbearably bitter is a lot closer to a blonde roast than anything. Maybe a blonde-medium roast. It could be much more harsh.

He is our hope. And He is good.

.DSN.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Toothpaste Confession

Brush your teeth. It will never go out of style.

Your mouth will go out of style long before brushing it does.

Trust me. 

Here's the story:

The other day, I ran out of toothpaste. I had passed the point of wrenching and squeezing every last drop of toothpaste out of the tube. That tube was bone dry. It was this night that I stood over my bathroom sink, disoriented and perplexed because I had actually ran out of something that never runs out. Seriously. It's like contact solution. There's always enough for one more day.

Except for today.

Having been moving through the cycle of "recognition" --> "denial" --> "acceptance" --> "action" (not able to get to "action" because I don't have a car and it was late), I now began to accept my circumstance and therefore attempted to employ a problem solving strategy to find an ameliorative next step. As I thought of nothing profound, I thought I would simply rinse out my mouth with water- you know, just swish around water in my mouth for half a minute then gargle for a short period of time. That should at least get me through the night until I can get some more toothpaste.

So I did. I rinsed out my mouth and went to bed. The next morning I was up early and off to my 8AM class. Not having toothpaste, I again did not brush my teeth. To my own chagrin, I repeated that same cycle that night and went to bed. The next morning (36 hours from when I discovered my lack of toothpaste), it occurred to me that I could ask my friend, with whom I live, for some of his toothpaste. I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but I didn't. Of course, being the great guy that he is, he allowed me to brush my teeth with his toothpaste.

Here is the glorious moment. Having not brushed my teeth now for about 48 hours, I have eaten 5-6 meals and slept twice. However, it really didn't feel like my mouth was that dirty.

Then the moment of truth: after spending a good few minutes scrubbing away at my dental fixtures, I did what any normal person does and I spit the toothpaste out into the sink.

What I saw that day was one of most gross things I have ever seen come out of my mouth after cleaning it. I couldn't believe the grotesque color of purplish brown to which the toothpaste had turned after having entered and consequently exited my mouth. I couldn't get over it. What could I have eaten that would have made such a horrible thing?

Then it hit me:

When we go any period of time harboring unconfessed sin in our hearts (put your sin here), our spirits get dirty. They get gross. They get stinky and smelly. Without the cleansing power of God's Word coupled with repentance and genuinely humble and honest confession of sin, your soul is getting plaque piled onto it. My soul is getting plaque piled onto it.

The problem is that we so often never feel how bad it gets. Unconfessed sin creates a mountain of garbage in our hearts that is cloaked to both our noses and even our eyes because it rarely piles up all at once. Just like a frog can be boiled to death because of the nearly imperceptible change in temperature, so also our hearts can become cold, hard, and calloused because of repeated and unconfessed offenses to our God and Savior. 

The Moral:

1) Brush your teeth. Don't let your mouth become a germ zoo.

2) Dig into the Word. Don't just do your devotions, really dig into the Word. Spend time in prayer and confessing sin. Listen to Christocentric praise music and kneel next to your bed and pray through the music. I love songs of response, but we all need time looking at God for who He is. We can't only think about what He's done for us; we must focus on who He is, because the time we spend meditating on who God is will directly affect how we live

He is my hope for a clean mouth and a pure heart.

.DSN.