Leviticus 19:28 says "You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am The Lord." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of The Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God. You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."
These two verses have two completely different meanings to me. There has been this ageless debate about whether or not Christians should get tattoos. I am a believer in tattoos, therefore I stand on the side that says tattoos are okay. I will take you in depth about the verses and where I stand.
The first verse, Leviticus 19:28, is a very complex verse. A lot more complex than many other verses. Although it seems straightforward, it is not. Take the time period the bible was written in, and compare it to today. There was a lot more witchcraft and rituals going on than now. "You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead," that is the complex part of the verse. Personally, I have two memorial tattoos, one for my best friend who committed suicide, and the other for my little cousins who died at birth. That's not what God means by "for the dead." He means do not cut yourself through a ritual or human sacrifice to glorify the dead (Hell). "Or tattoo yourselves," meaning the same thing as the cuts. Back in the ancient days, specifically the Mayans, Incas, etc. tattoos were a sign of the Gods. If you had them, it meant that you were "Godsent." The latter half of the Leviticus verse is referring to things like that.
The second verse 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, is more simple. Again, take the era of when the bible was written and the preceding verse in this article, it wasn't specifically aimed at regular people. I believe that you can use tattoos to glorify God. My very first tattoo was the Greek Lexicon word for "forgiven," written in the Lexicon lettering. It is also the most meaningful tattoo I have. I wake up everyday and I look at it. I think to myself "no matter how many times I screw up I am still loved and forgiven unconditionally." My body is a temple used to glorify God, except it's in my own way.
Everyone has probably heard the saying "the end doesn't always justify the means." That is true to an extent. It is also false to an extent. In this specific case, I believe the end does justify the means. The end goal is to glorify God, correct? Well my specific tattoo on my right forearm, is a very common and easy way to do so. At least twice a day someone asks me what my tattoo means. I give them the exact same answer every time, "it says forgiven in Greek." this is the gateway to a conversation about my faith, every single time. Most people don't care to hear it, but I tell them anyways. Usually that question is followed by "why?" I then go on to tell them that the new testament was originally written in Latin, Greek, and Aramaic. The underlying theme to the new testament is love and forgiveness. That conversation can either stop there or continue. I used to work at a preschool and the children would always ask me what it meant and why I got it. I worked at a Christian preschool so most of the children knew about Jesus. I also volunteer at a Christian camp every summer and everyone asks me the same questions about them.
I choose to use my tattoos to teach the world about Jesus. I choose to make it known that I am a Christian and I am willing to help anyone who wants to get to know Christ. Whether it be at the camp or the preschool, I have had many kids from ages 3 to 18 accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior and all of it stemmed from a simple tattoo I got after I graduated High School.
