part 1 of the Tattoos Series
There are people that think differently about tattoos. There are people the think tattoos are trashy and tacky. There are people that think tattoos are wrong to have. However, I believe tattoos tell stories. I believe that tattoos all have a meaning and a significance to the person. There is a reason and story as to why they got the tattoo. I believe tattoos tell stories.
But what is really said about tattoos? What are the thoughts that people have in regards to them? For followers of Jesus, a lot of the thoughts and positions that are held on tattoos come from this verse in Leviticus:
“Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.” - Leviticus 19:28 NIV
So as you can see it would appear that it is very clear there in this verse. But the NIV translation of the Bible is a more modern translation of the Bible and will use more updates words. (This is true for the other translations as well.) But this is what the KJV version of the Bible says:
“Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.” - Leviticus 19:28 KJV
So we can see where the NIV and other translations pick up the word tattoo. The words used in the KJV “print any marks” when we think of it translates to us as “tattoo” because that is the way we understand “print marks”. But when the KJV Bible was written the word tattoo didn’t exist yet in the English language.[1]
We also need to look at what the background of the book of Leviticus is. The Book of Leviticus was written after Israel was freed from slavery in Egypt and God was laying out rules and regulations for them to follow so that they would be different than the other people and nations that were around.
I have heard through classes and read through research that tattoos were used by warriors to show who they had killed in battles and war. Also, Egypt would tattoo women as a good luck measure to protect the birthing process. There is other evidence as well that shows other people and nations would go extreme and cut, gash, and brand their bodies. This was done to mourn the death of a loved ones or to honor their gods.
So after researching and looking at these different views of Leviticus 19:28, you can kind of see where God was coming from when He said that to Israel. We can also see why followers of Jesus now hold the thoughts that we do because of the translation using the word “tattoo” for “prink marks”. So there’s that.
So here are my thoughts on this. The Old Testament is the law that Jesus fulfilled when He died on the cross. This does not make it irrelevant or useless in any way. But it does make us have to look at it a little differently. These words in Leviticus were meant for a specific time and people. God wanted His Israelite people to be different and stand out. So God laid all of this out for them. So that makes it hard for us to try and navigate these words because of what they say. But when Jesus died on the cross and fulfilled the law and set up the New Covenant with us it changed the game. It doesn’t make the Old Testament irrelevant, but it causes us to have to look at it differently. In doing my research and in Bible classes, I have been told that we are under the New Covenant and that whatever Jesus says in the New Testament - and more so to whatever is in the New Testament - we are held to more of that then the Old Testament. But Jesus does repeat some of the things from the Old Testament law - example the 10 Commandments. But He doesn’t say anything about tattoos. So I ask again - what is the deal then? Here are my thoughts....
As followers of Jesus, we need to give careful thought to the tattoos we get and the reason why we are getting them. Because the Bible may not explicitly say the word tattoo but it does indirectly reference them in other ways.
MOTIVE
What is the reason behind the tattoo? If the reason you are getting a tattoo is to defy your parents or parental figure - then that is wrong. The Bible tells us in Ephesians to obey our parents and honor them.
Also, our motive for getting a tattoo should be to bring glory to God (1 Corinthians 10:31). So there should be and needs to be a lot of thought from us when we are deciding to get a tattoo.
MODESTY
The definition of modesty is to not be self-promoting. So when we are trying to figure out the tattoo we want to get we must think about where that tattoo is going to put people’s focus - on God? or on me? This is something as a follower of Jesus we should think about.
MONEY
I debated throwing this one in there because I believe that this is always an issue when people try to prove a point when it comes to anything really. But in reality we do need to consider this when getting a tattoo. Not from the standpoint as it is a waste of money - because believe me there are many other things that we waste money on and I believe that tattoos are low on the list. But from the standpoint of do I really have the money for this at this time? We should really look at that when considering getting a tattoo and see if maybe we should wait, save and get the tattoo a few months down the road when have the money.
MESSAGE
What are you trying to say with the tattoo? When we are asked about our tattoos what will we say the meaning of it is? Once again this goes back to the last point - will the meaning of the tattoo bring the focus of the conversation to God? Or more on us? Also, will the message of the tattoo be sustained? We need to think about that as well.
These are just a few of my thoughts on the topic of tattoos. In the following posts for this series, I want to share with you the meaning behind the 4 tattoos that I have. As I said, tattoos tell stories and all of mine come from something that I have learned from Almighty God. I hope you will join me.
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This post references Crosswalk.com -
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