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.