We are very quick to judge tattoos.
Whether good or bad, people judge those who have tattoos.
They either label that person as rebellious and dangerous or they label them as cool and open-minded.
I wish I could say that Christians don’t do that, but I am afraid that we see a lot of God’s people judging those who have marks on their skin.
We see that it’s an obvious sin, therefore we feel the need to be judgmental and hurtful.
We insist that tattoos instantly reveal someone’s poisoned soul and tend to justify our sins by proclaiming that, at least we don’t have tattoos.
Sometimes, we are so desperate to feel less convicted about our iniquities and sins, that we use the sins of others to make ourselves feel better.
Too often we see Christians judging harshly other Christians who have tattoos!
It should not be this way!
How should Christians respond to tattoos?
Let’s dive into the only place in the Bible, where you can find anything related to tattoos!
One of the many things The Lord stated through Moses was Leviticus 19.
“You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD.”
Leviticus 19:28 NKJV
The word tattoo was not used in the original text.
The original word used in this text is better translated as “Mark.”
God does not want us altering what He made.
He doesn’t want us putting marks on what He created and that, I truly do understand.
It’s as if we went to the Louvre museum in Paris and decided to draw a birthmark on the Mona Lisa.
I understand the Creator not wanting the creation to dictate their own image… especially when the Creator is God and He made the creation in His own image.
Not all tattoos have inappropriate or immoral meanings behind them.
Though, tattoos are sometimes used for the purpose of glorifying God or as artistic moral reminders, it is the fact that permanent changes are being made to what God has called complete.
Moreover, when this scripture was composed, it was common that markings on the body were used in unholy ways; for rituals of luck or for the worship of fake gods.
Some markings were the result of purposeful violence towards oneself or others; as a form of worship, fellowship, punishment, branding or other unholy rituals.
Though after considering what is said in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NKJV, which is…
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
You start seeing the precious importance of what your soul lives in, on earth.
Your body is the home that you want to represent beautifully, for God to feel welcome inside!
However, before we start to see it permissible to judge people with tattoos,
please consider that tattoos are on a long list of the ways we risk damaging and tarnishing our temple.
Here are some of the things that are just as harmful to our temple as tattoos.
I like to call these things “spiritual tattoos.”
Overeating or getting drunk.
“Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat; For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.”
Proverbs 23:20-21 NKJV
Gossiping.
“You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.”
Leviticus 19:16 NKJV
Idolizing.
“‘Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the Lord your God.”
Leviticus 19:4 NKJV
(This includes all the celebrities, lifestyles, material things, etc. that we exalt as well as other religions.)
Stealing / lying.
(Even small things guys)
“‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.”
Leviticus 19:11 NKJV
Sabotage.
(Even with words.)
“You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the Lord.”
Leviticus 19:14 NKJV
Judgement.
(Our judgement is lenient towards the things we believe are permissible and harsh towards what we ourselves wouldn’t do. We were not created to judge people by our own opinion. It’s God’s job to judge but we all tend to do it so often!)
“‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.”
Leviticus 19:15 NKJV
hate / hold grudges / take vengeance.
(Yes, that includes making your ex-boyfriend jealous because he cheated on you or getting even in any way)
“‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”
Leviticus 19:17-18 NKJV
Fortune tellers.
“‘Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.”
Leviticus 19:31 NKJV
Money related dishonesty.
(even as simple as the vending machine giving you an extra snack when you only paid for one.)
“‘You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
Leviticus 19:35-36 NKJV
Did you see your spiritual tattoo in this list?
I saw plenty of my own…
So, although these are all things that are damaging to the soul and almost all of them are mentioned in the same chapter as the only place in the Bible that discusses tattoos,
they all were covered by Jesus!
Yes, I believe we should turn from all of this!
Yes, we should try and make our body as welcoming to the Spirit of God, as possible!
However, let us not judge other people’s journeys though!
Not one of us can say that we have not done at least one of the things on that list…
And whether you knew it or not, it damaged your soul and temple just as much as a tattoo.
When you do any of these things, you may not have a mark on the outside to prove it, but it’s there on the inside.
A spiritual tattoo that sits there and serves the same reminder as a physical tattoo or self harming scar.
Whether God views a literal tattoo as a sin or not, does that give you a right to scold someone for it?
You have the same tattoos, only yours is gluttony, lying, revenge, and gossip, tattooed on your soul.
This goes the same for those who have marks on their body yet judge the glutton or the drinker.
In times when you want to judge tattoos, or any of these things for that matter, remember what Jesus said in John 8:2-9 NKJV.
“Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them,
“He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”
And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.”
Photo by Djordje Petrovic
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
WAIT!
I don’t want you to leave feeling like you are no good, because of your spiritual tattoos.
We should acknowledge that we all miss the mark in some area…
However, I don’t want you to forget how much you mean to God!
You are worth more than ANYTHING to Him!
There is no spiritual tattoo, too permanent for the love of Jesus to cover.
No sin that could remove the love He has for you!
Please read the below post, and remember that you are never too damaged for God!
