With Love & Grace,
But Without Tattoos, Worldly Styles & Fashions...
Question 1: Is it wrong to have a tattoo on our body?
Answer 1: The
Word of God says in 1 Corinthians 6: 19,
20 like this:
“Or do you not know
that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from
God, and that you are not your own?
For you have been
bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body”.
So, how can we glorify God in our body by tattooing? Also Leveticus 19: 28 says: “You
shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD”.
Question 2: What if
we get a cross or a Bible verse?
Answer
2: I believe the best way to glorify the Lord Jesus, is to live a life
pleasing Him to the utmost, through the continuous fullness of the Holy Spirit!
At the same time, I am not here to judge or look down upon anybody who has a
tattoo. Some people would have put the tattoo in their unconverted days also.
Question 3: What
about ear studs, hair styles and fashionable clothes etc?
Answer 3: 1
Timothy 2: 9 and 1Peter 3: 3 clearly instructs against wearing ornaments as
part of simple living, and emphasize the inner beauty of a meek and quiet
spirit (1Peter 3: 4) and the glorious adornment with good works (1 Timothy 2:
10).
Although it is addressed to women in both contexts, the same
principle is applicable to men as well. The principle is to dress modestly and
discreetly, not with tight fitting clothes and worldly dress and hair styles and
fashions and tattoos to get the attention of others, especially those of the
opposite gender. These worldly styles will tempt many to sin and will result in
many following worldly models!
This does not mean that we need to dress white and white to
be holy. But rather Jesus said that our Heavenly Father would clothe us much
better than the lilies of the field (Matthew
6: 28- 30), which, of course, are of varying colours!
Some people might quote 1
Samuel 16: 7 which says “Man looks at
the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”. Yes, He is
looking at your heart to see why you are wearing what you are wearing. He sees
your motives (1 Corinthians 4: 5).
The worldliness is not, of course, in a dress or ornament or style, but in the
mind which is conformed to this world (Romans
12: 2) which craves for attention and adoration and popularity!
I believe, while on earth the Lord Jesus would have dressed
in such a manner that He would not stand out conspicuous in a group by His style
or dress. He appeared so ordinary among other people (Isaiah 53: 2), that the Pharisees needed a Judas Iscariot to
identify Him clearly from among His disciples, to arrest Him (Matthew 26: 48). Yes, our Lord did not
have a halo or even a special shawl!
There we see the glory of the humility of the Lord Jesus Who
always wanted to go down and never wanted to exalt Himself before others even
by His appearance! Let us follow the glorious, bloodstained footsteps of our
Beloved Lord in the midst of a generation of people, especially youngsters who
seek to exalt themselves! But at the same time, let us not look down upon and
judge anyone like the Pharisees (Luke 18:
9), for God despises no one (Job 36:
5)!
Question 4: How can
we obey the Lord in everything and not become legalistic and judgmental in our
attitude towards others?
Answer 4: It is a
matter of personal conviction in these peripheral
matters, and we are not here to judge or condemn others (Matthew 7: 1) because judging or condemning others is a greater
sin than the worldly dressing! That critical, unloving and judgmental attitude
is the log in your eye, which needs to be changed (removed) before you can see
clearly to remove (correct) the worldly dressing styles (the speck in the other
person’s eye) (Matthew 7: 5)!
The central thing
in our life is to love the Lord Jesus with all our hearts and to love others as
we love ourselves (Mark 12: 28- 31).
And this is possible only by a continuous surrender to the Lord Jesus as
aliving sacrifice (Romans 12: 1, 2)
and thereby being continuously filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5: 18; Romans 5: 5)!
Others, of course, will not have exactly our conviction in
all matters, because they may not have light in certain areas, but they might
have far greater light than us in many other areas! And the “light” we have
also is not always perfect! “For now we see in a
mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know
fully just as I also have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13: 12). So
let us not judge others who do not see eye to eye with us everything!
Jesus said in Matthew
5: 19: “Whoever then annuls ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE COMMANDMENTS,
and teaches others to do the
same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever KEEPS AND
TEACHES them, he shall be
called GREAT (Greek word “megas”) IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN”. So let
us seek to keep and teach even the least of the Lord’s commandments.
But do you know who is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven? See Matthew 18: 4, where
Jesus says: “Whoever then HUMBLES HIMSELF AS THIS CHILD, he is the
GREATEST (Greek word “meizon”) IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN”.
So even while we seek to keep and teach even the least of
the Lord’s commandments, let us seek to be HUMBLEST and most CHILDLIKE like our
Saviour who did not judge or look down upon others! That is the beautiful and
subtle balance of the gracious, self-effacing CHILDLIKENESS and the uttermost,
joyful OBEDIENCE that we see in our Forerunner (Hebrews 6: 20)! Yes, He was full of GRACE and TRUTH (John 1: 14, 17).
The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of GRACE in Hebrew 10: 29 and Zechariah 12: 10. And the same Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of
TRUTH in John 14: 17 and 16: 13. So when we yield to this Spirit
of GRACE and TRUTH to continuously fill us, He will make us more and more like
Jesus who had CHILDLIKE OBEDIENCE!
And we will not major on the minors, but at the same time,
speak the TRUTH in LOVE (Ephesians 4: 15)
- like He did {compare Luke 4: 17 -22
(grace) with the next portion of verses 23
-28 (truth)}. It is like the fruit (grace) covering the seed (truth) (Genesis 1: 11, 12) and flesh (grace)
covering the bones (truth) (Ezekiel 37:
7, 8)!
