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.

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.

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.

"...Do all to the glory of God" -- What does that mean?

I grew up attending a Christian summer camp that before every mealtime would recite 1 Corinthians 10:31 which says this: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

This verse just might be one of the most well-known verses in Christianity, especially those of the Piperian persuasion. However, it is a curious thing; while one is hard-pressed to find a Christian that will not give mental assent to our responsibility to give glory to God, it is quite another thing to find a Christian who actively pursues such proclamation of God's glory.

Another curious thing about the conversation of "God's glory" is that those words themselves are quite vague. Until recently, I would have been very hesitant to define what the "glory of God" is and what "giving God glory" actually means.

Here is my quick explanation: proclaiming the glory of God is the act of showing how much better and more important God is in every word we say and every action we do. The difficulty in this discussion of trying to glorify God is that it is impossible to display the awesomeness of Jesus if He isn't awesome to you.

One might say, "But David, I'm a Christian, and I do want to glorify God." To which I would respond, "Good for you." But here's the deal: because it's nice and easy to talk about this conceptual "glory of God", all Christians fall into patterns of simply forgetting about Jesus and not recognizing Him as the only all and only-satisfying fountain that He is.

Volumes are written in discussion of what the glory of God actually is, so I hope this post simply gets the cognitive juices flowing in your mind in attempt to understand what we mean when we say that we want to "glorify God" or "do all to the glory of God."

If it means that we want everything that we do to point to how special Jesus is, then consider these two things:

1) Is He actually special to you?
2) If He is special to you, what steps do you take to communicate that to others?

I am not saying that merely doing lists of things will show that Jesus is more important. Not having tattoos, not drinking alcohol, not smoking cigarettes, not saying bad words, not listening to "bad music," and not going to "R" rated movies are not ways to put the importance of Jesus on display. Any good Catholic or Mormon can conform to a regimen of externals and hate the Gospel as much as any anti-theist.

I also do not want to say that we should simply go around saying "Jesus is the most important thing in my life" (I actually know someone who said that). As I always tend to say, the things that you love the most will make themselves evident whenever you do anything. If it is important for you to be well-liked, you will probably not say too many controversial things or get into too many arguments. If it is important that you become an elite in sports, you will spend a lot of time in the gym or on the field. If it is important that you are able to get an attractive boyfriend or girlfriend, you will look and act in a certain way. If you are about letting people know about how awesome Jesus is, you will talk about Him all the time; and if you don't talk about Him all the time, your manner of communicating will be one that points to His love and ultimate supremacy at all times.

Consider these things and be honest with yourself. Don't make excuses. If you see room for improvement, praise God that you aren't too proud to be blinded to weak spots.

My suggestion: Ask Him RIGHT NOW to make Himself so important to you that you can't help but share His awesomeness with family, friends, co-workers, and anyone that will listen.

If God changes and moves your heart towards that end, you won't be able to stop His name from coming off of your lips.

He is our glory, our satisfaction, and our hope.

.DSN.

Stop Fighting and Start Fighting

I saw that I wrote most of this over this past Christmas vacation. With some edits and the last few paragraphs added more recently, here it is:

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30 ESV)

Everything we do is for our own happiness, pleasure, and joy. There is no motivation that affects us greater than the motivation for the maximizing of our own comfort and happiness. Think about where you are sitting right now. I'm in my bed. I am sitting here because it is one of the quietest places and most comfortable seats in the house, and my room affords me the ability to spend time reflecting and gaining a clarity of thought that is no other place can. Why do I value all these things to thereby choose my bed as my writing spot? In the end, I aim to have more peace, more lucidity in my own thinking, and really, I hope to mitigate my discomfort as much as I can.

This same principle applies to every area of life. The pursuit of my own joy, happiness, and fulfillment realizes itself in the most mundane tasks of daily living: eating, sleeping, playing music, doing dishes, even blogging. These are all avenues through which every living person pursues his or her own sense of meaning and fulfillment, even at the minuscule level.

This is a fact of life.

But here's the problem:

We fight for fulfillment, meaning, and joy in all the wrong places.

I'm not saying that there's a problem with doing mundane things throughout the day to make us feel better. I am firmly convinced that my sense of fulfillment as I clean the toilet in my house is a well-justified one. What I'm saying is that our pursuit of learning, our pursuit of skills and abilities, and especially our pursuit of different inter-personal relationships are all ways in which we chase our hunger for fulfillment. I drove home today after spending some time with friends, and I came across a song that referenced the verse with which I introduced this post. I started to choking up as I realized how much harder my life is than it has to be. Jesus said that His yoke is easy and his burden is light. What a contrast to the burden that I feel right now. Life as a believer shouldn't be so, for lack of a better word, burdensome. It's a really crummy feeling when we try so hard to be happy and fulfilled through so many things and end grasping at the wind and punching the air. I'm becoming increasingly aware that the solution is to stop trying so hard to be so happy. It never works. This kind of fight for our own joy is miserable and it is a battle that we will lose 100 percent of the time.

While we need to stop striving for peace outside of the rest that Jesus brings, we need to strive for the peace inside of the rest that Jesus brings. Paul says in Philippians 1:27:

"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel"

Striving for faith does not mean forcing yourself to pray harder, read the Word more, and talk about theology more profoundly. It means that we strive for faith in the Gospel by preaching it to ourselves again and again. We must look to more accurately see our sin in light of our salvation and praise God for His salvation. You might say, "But David, I'm saved. I already believe the Gospel." To which I would respond that if we really believed all of the Gospel all of the time, we would never sin, because belief in the Gospel affirms that Jesus, the only perfectly beautiful being in existence, died to ransom His people from the eternal destruction that we all deserve. In the end, Gospel-belief should affirm that Jesus is better every single time. If we believe that this is true, we should never look to anything else to give us the rest that our spirits need.

Paul also gives us this command in Philippians 2:12-13:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

This may seem like we do need to fight for our own peace. Not only does it seem like we need to fight for our own peace, but it seems like we should do so out of fear. The problem with this reading of that passage is that it is the conclusion of one of the most glorious explanations of the Gospel in verses 1-11! Paul expounds on how humble Jesus was to lower himself to our level and die at the hands of his own creation so that we might be saved! Paul then concludes that because those things are true and because it is God Himself who is actually working, we should respond! We should not respond out of mere obligation, but we should respond because of the great love with which he loved us!

This whole subject of "working out our own salvation" can be tricky and confusing. While I by no means understand all the ins and outs of it, what I will say is that the times I have been in love with Jesus the most is when I ask God to show me my own sick and depraved heart and then minister the good news of the Gospel to me, yet again.

Rest in God's love. He LOVES you. He loves you more than you love the thing you love the most. He loves you more than you love you. Rest in that, and seek His face all the more often, asking that He will enable you to have faith in the Gospel more deeply and fully.

God is our hope.

.DSN.

Embracing Accusation - Thanks to Shane and Shane

I just heard this song for the first time this week. I just read the lyrics while listening to it and I started to cry. Listen and be blessed.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI1sSZ1zTEs


The father of lies
Coming to steal
Kill and destroy
All my hopes of being good enough
I hear him saying cursed are the ones
Who can't abide
He's right
Alleluia he's right!

The devil is preaching
The song of the redeemed
That I am cursed and gone astray
I cannot gain salvation
Embracing accusation 

Could the father of lies
Be telling the truth
Of God to me tonight?
If the penalty of sin is death
Then death is mine
I hear him saying cursed are the ones
Who can't abide
He's right
Alleluia he's right!

Oh the devil's singing over me
An age old song
That I am cursed and gone astray
Singing the first verse so conveniently
He's forgotten the refrain
Jesus saves!

He redeemed us from the curse of the law


Satan is right about our miserable state. That is why God is our only hope.


.DSN.

Dating and Relationships: Flirting For Fun Finishes In Farcical Failure

We all know flirts. Flirts have a certain distinctive stereotype; and unfortunately for them, it isn't positive. When I was in high school, I had little respect but a twisted admiration for one football player in particular who would always hang out with the most attractive girls at school, seeming to always have the cutest and popular one on his arm all the time. Thankfully, being a few years removed from that insanity, God has given a little more perspective so that I now no longer envy this guy; I see his ability to “get girls” is just a manifestation of his own insecurity. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Oxford American Dictionary defines "flirting" in the following way: to behave as though attracted to or trying to attract someone, but for amusement rather than with serious intentions.

Flirtation can take a few different forms. It may take the form of the too-interested guy or girl who gives a lot of superficial compliments and is just a little too touchy; this person may also make winsome and light-hearted jokes at the expense of the flirtee. While this kind of playful fun-making could be perceived as harmless, there is no intention for a meaningful relationship, and therefore these actions will inevitably lead to confusion and hurt for at least one of the parties involved. Overt flirting is a manifestation of insecurity, in that the flirter is attempting to lure the flirtee into letting down his or her emotional defenses and reciprocating similarly false affirmation.

Flirting can also manifest itself discreetly. When Person "X" (who I will refer to as "Pat") is aware of the dangers that false affection brings but still wants the attention and heightened self-esteem that flirting promises, "Pat" will make subtle and abnormally kind advances to evoke these warmly uncommitted feelings in an attempt to satisfy that desire. In many Christian circles, this form of flirting is more common and harder to spot. Having grown up in mainstream Christian culture and thusly kissing dating goodbye, I am aware that the popular teaching forbids casually romantic relationships. To circumvent this stipulation, Christian flirting often takes the turn of a tactful and covert operation by avoiding the superficial compliments and engaging on a deeper/more emotional or even spiritual level, but still, covert flirting is just as deceptive and hurtful.

So here's the problem: Flirting/false displays of affection does two things: 1) It lies to the one who is being flirted with by giving them an impression of interest that, while possibly present, will not be followed up on in any responsible way. This attitude is dishonest and disrespectful towards others; nobody who is flirted with and left out to dry comes away from the experience saying, "I'm glad that just happened to me." 2) The second but fundamental aspect of flirting reveals a heart that is looking for something other than Jesus to make it happy. It is so hard not to flirt with someone of whom you are desirous of his or her affection and approval, and the reason for this is because our hearts are wicked and sinful. It's too easy to look for the quick fix. For those who are good at flirting and are thereby skilled at getting his or her desired response (getting that girl or having that guy) unfortunately means that it takes less work for them to be satisfied with that which is other than Jesus. 

What is interesting to me is that the healthiest relationships I have observed (ones that lead to and continue in marriage) are not make-me-feel-good relationships. There is a seriousness that is unique to two people who genuinely love each other for who they are not what they provide. With that mutual love and self-sacrifice comes real joy; the typical high-school love story that says "I think you're cute and you think I'm cute... let's date" has been long forgotten.

An insatiable desire for attention from the opposite gender cannot be cured when you find "the one." The reason for this is because a heart that participates in deceptive, flirtatious behavior is a heart that believes that it needs more than what has already been provided through Christ's perfect life, death, and resurrection on our behalf. This is not merely a situational problem, it’s a heart sickness problem... as always.

If we understood the glorious truth of having everything provided for us in Christ and funneled every single decision through it, we would not see the need to flirt for fun. We would seek other's interests above our own and hold the emotional and spiritual lives of our brothers and sisters in a far higher regard. 

Without Him, no part of this solution is remotely possible. 

He is our hope.

.DSN.