Tattoos and Teens

Dear Friend,

I have often struggled with wanting to get a tattoo or getting some part of my body pierced.  Society has presented tattoos and piercings to us as something rebellious and cool, for those who can’t stand their parents and want to become independent.

Well, it isn’t cool.

One will often see in movies that the child will go out and get something pierced or get a tattoo on themselves. But rebellion is not cool. If you believe in something and it was founded on the right reasons and you can find Biblical text to support it, then by all means pursue it. Rebelling against someone in position of authority is not a just cause.

For some it may not be rebellion. They may find it as a display of art or a defining quality. A symbol of, “this is who I am,” but you don’t need to mark your skin to prove that. You do not need to tattoo a heart on your wrist to represent your compassionate spirit. You do not need to tattoo a name across your heart to represent your dedication to your partner. You can show your love through how you act towards them.

God specifically states to keep your temple holy.  1 Corinthians 3:16-17, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”

Not only can you tattoo your body but you can tattoo/mark your heart as well. If you keep impure things close and dear to you, you are only hurting yourself. God is like a loving father and I know there are many out there that might not have a father or may have had an abusive one. But God is the ultimate father. He cares about us. If you truly think about every rule God has ever set for us, you can see the good in it and the reasoning.

Take sex before marriage, for example. Having sex with someone will create a soul tie between you and that person. Leaving you unable to fully detach yourself from them and unable to have a truly functioning relationship or at least have one as great as it could have been. If you don’t see issue in that then think about it from a medical stand-point. You can retract a plethora of diseases from having sex with someone.

God speaks what He means and says exactly what He means.

 The devil is the master of perversion, God preaches against everything impure. Tell me why you would want to open the door to the devil and make it even harder for you to live, when living through everyday life is already hard as is.

I have often stopped and gone over my life and what it was I was listening to and what I held dear to me, what clothes I wore, and what I had plastered onto my walls. I have found out that I was trying to cater to my own selfish desires. I had been doing what would make me feel good about myself without thinking about the consequences.

 I have come in contact with many people who were once believers in Christ or who might have been, but no longer have the desire to be and hold resentment and anger towards Christians. If asked why they disliked the practice so much, they often answered with how they were treated or how they saw Christians act. What people don’t realize is that although you may be trying to help someone out, you need to realize what you look like from an outside party.

What messages are you sending?

 I end with this before you make a decision like tattooing your body or piercing your skin, know this. That it was stated as wrong in the Bible as being forbidden Leviticus 19:28 “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD,” and that it is an ancient ritual that goes far back. It is a doorway for demons to enter into your life and have the right to do as they please. You cannot be pure if you have impure things in your life. Everything you do in life is marked down. If not in a bibliography like those of the well known, but down in the book the Lord keeps. I will leave you with two questions to think about. Is it worth eternal damnation and suffering? Is the temporary worth your life?

Regards,

From one who cares

Volume 15, 2010