Tattoos are becoming more and more popular by the week. I honestly never thought as a child that they would ever become as popular and accepted as they are today. Employers do not care anymore, to an extent of course, and they do not seem to cause any kind of restriction on what you can do in the world while having tattoos. Since the world is becoming okay with tattoos does that mean it is okay to have them? There are still so many questions about tattoos among believers today, with the biggest question of all being, are tattoos a sin?
Here is what I want to ask of you. Have an open mind to this blog post. I have noticed many people are stuck in their mindset about this topic, but be open and pray for God to help you find the truth. I used a couple different resources for my research on tattoos. I used John Piper’s videos on youtube on tattoos, seriously look him up he is very knowledgable. I also used a website called “biblestudytools.com”. I really recommend that website as well for any confusion on meanings in the Bible.
I first toyed with the idea of getting a tattoo when I was a junior in college. I had began to notice so many believers with tattoos that had deep meaning to them and their spiritual walk and I loved that. Before doing any research in the Bible on the topic I made a phone call on the new idea I had. That conversation did not go well at all. In fact it went HORRIBLE. It left me crying and the other person crying and I decided after that conversation that maybe a tattoo really was not for me. I am a very indecisive person anyways and that character trait plus a tattoo do not mix. A little later down the road I wanted to fully know if tattoos were a sin that believers had not really looked into before getting them or if they are not a sin at all.
Let’s start with the most famous verse of all, the one everyone pulls out to call tattoos a sin, Leviticus 19:28. The verse states, “You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.” This is the verse that was referenced to me when I made that phone call that day and it really stuck with me. It seems so straightforward, right? But the truth is this verse is often taken out of context and is not researched enough for its true meaning. Most people read this verse and decide point blank that tattoos are a sin, but the verse is being used out of context. This verse is talking about a couple different things. First I want to make the point that the word “tattoo” here does not mean the same thing as it does in today’s time. Tattoos as we know them did not enter the English language until later in the 1700s, which is after this verse was written. Okay then what is this verse meaning? This verse is referencing to Egypt and Canaan at the time. Egyptian women had began “tattooing” the body parts of women that were associated with fertility as a good luck charm for their birthing processes when it was their time to have a baby. They believed it would protect their baby and themselves during the birthing process. This is sinful because they are believing these markings on their bodies to be what protects the baby and themselves instead of trusting God and His plan. They are placing their trust in markings over God. Canaan, at the time, began scarring themselves by branding and slashing their skin for ritualistic purposes during time of mourning or to honor their gods. These markings were a sign of compromise with people who did not worship the true God. God was using this verse to forbid scarification, not tattooing as we know it today. One last point I will make towards this specific verse is we are not under the Mosaic Law anymore. Once Jesus came to Earth and died on the cross for our sins, and rose from the grave, the Mosaic Law no longer carries the force as law, this verse being a part of it. This is why we can eat the foods we can today and why we are not placed under the same rules as they were in the Old Testament. We are saved by GRACE, through Jesus today, not by following the Mosaic Law.
All that being said, no, tattoos are not a sin, but they can become sinful. It is important to check your heart and the tattoos meaning before getting it. If you are simply getting a tattoo because everyone seems to have one nowadays, it is a sin. It is a sin because the motive behind it is to follow what the world is doing, which is not what we are called to do. Ask yourself why you are getting the tattoo in the first place. Is it a heartfelt expression of godliness? Is it to be used as another way to tell others about God and your love for Him? Tattoos are not a sin as long as they honor God and are being used to glorify Him.
Last August I got my first tattoo. I was going through one of the hardest times in my life and met with my mentor, who had also been my previous Bible study leader. I was confused and broken in many different ways at the time. I had formed a very close relationship with God over my troubles, knowing His will for my life was being played out in front of me and that He had what was best for me in mind. Although I believed this with everything in me and saw it unfolding in front of me, I was still having a very hard time mentally. I was explaining all of this to my mentor, in detail of course, when she said something that has stayed with me ever since, and now forever. She said, “Sometimes the most beautiful butterflies first had to struggle to get out of the cocoon. I believe that is what God is doing in your life. You are going through a very tough season spiritually and emotionally in order to come out on the other side more beautiful than before”. Not too long after that conversation I got a butterfly tattooed on my right wrist.
I did come out of that season stronger than ever in my relationship with Christ and my view on myself. My butterfly tattoo is a daily reminder that no matter how bad the storm may be, He is with me and will bring me out on the other side of it stronger than ever in my walk and in my life. He always does and He always has.
Kokonaomi
