Talking About Tattoos

My, my, my… don’t you think this picture is simply beautiful?
Well, I realize that not everybody will agree with me about painting a permanent pattern on their skin, but literally and commonly speaking, the “picture” within the picture above is one remarkable beauty!
I’ve always been an admirer of body art and body painting, something that would make my parents’ hair stand on ends. They dismissed body art as a sort of vulgar and indecent act of breaking the norms. Perhaps it’s due to their perception that only convicts, rascals and criminals have tattoos. They cannot see the art that it embodies. For me, having a beautiful tattoo means becoming a living-masterpiece of art.
But I’ve long decided not to have any permanent tattoo decorating my skin.
No, it’s not because Mom and Dad strictly prohibited me to.
It’s got something to do with integrity instead of child-obedience.
A long time ago, far back in ancient days, in Middle-East, God brought the Israelites out of Egypt to possess the promised land of Canaan. They were commanded to wage war against and annihilate the people of the land, do away with their practices of idol worship and traditions that so vexed the heart of the Lord, and purge the land of evil.
One of the customs of the Canaanites that the Lord commanded His chosen people not to follow was piercing and engraving their bodies with certain paintings. Tattooing!
In those days, tattoos were considered as sacred symbols carved on people’s skin to invite the natural spirits and powers into their bodies and dwell in their lives. There certainly were some rites and enchantments done in tattoo-making, and an amount of blood dripped during the making of them (blood being the “price” they paid as a sacrifice to the natural spirits they were inviting to enter their bodies).
Leviticus 19:28 says, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord!”
It is clear that tattooing one’s skin is an act of breaking allegiance with the Lord, a challenge against His command, and defiance against His good and perfect will.
Even when the time has changed and tattoo-making no longer has anything to do with demon-worship or paganism, the Word of God stands. We cannot break a single law of God without stirring up His fury – especially we, who know the Scripture and have devoted our lives to ministering the Lord.
That’s the only reason I deny my self-will to decorate my body.
But still, I adore body art and body painting up to this day. I love seeing beautiful tattoos and collecting tattoo patterns. The one shown above is one of the best I found in internet. A few weeks ago I sent the above picture to a good friend of mine in Jakarta. I posted it on his Facebook wall. He’s a tattoo lover as well (in fact, he’s got three already – all invite my jealousy; they’re so beautiful). I knew he would appreciate it.
He did. I was satisfied at finding out he gave the picture a thumb up.
What I didn’t know was that the next morning after receiving the picture, he went and had that pattern tattooed all over his back…!!!