You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:28
When I work out, I take off my wedding band because it catches on my barbell. Long ago then, my wife bought me a silicone wedding band, hoping I’d wear that at the gym. That caught on the barbell as well, so I wouldn’t wear that either. Wanting to proclaim my love for her though, I eventually got my one and only tattoo – a wedding band. This was significant as I’ve never been interested in getting tattooed. It was a big deal to my wife because that ring tattoo showed that I wanted to proclaim my love for and commitment to her.
I’m glad I did it and I know that it was the right thing to do. Still, in the back of my mind, it felt a little naughty. Why? Because I grew up in a religious tradition that frowned on such things. I’m pretty sure that I never heard my father (a pastor) preach this, but as a child, I simply understood that tattoos were worn by those who drank, smoked, and joined motorcycle gangs. Christians just didn’t act like that and those who did probably weren’t Christians. For me to get a tattoo then, even though I believed it was the right thing to do, took overcoming some legalism that is deeply rooted in my faith.
There’s a Biblical reason for this. In today’s passage, God instructed his people not to tattoo themselves. Over the years, I’m sure this passage has been quoted countless times by Christians opposed to tattoos. The same passage however, addresses hair styles and beard trimming – You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard (Leviticus 19:27). No one ever quotes that verse though, because these were specific rules, given at a specific time, instructing the Israelites not to emulate the surrounding heathen cultures. These rules simply don’t apply to us today. Still, I’m sure that hasn’t stopped legalistic Christians from quoting that verse for centuries.
This presents an obvious quandary. If I don’t have to follow the tattoo rule, can I throw out all the Bible’s rules? I obviously believe that I’m not supposed to murder or steal, so there are rules I still follow. How do I know which ones to keep and which ones to discard? That’s not an easy answer and the question itself belies that my focus is sometimes more on the rules than the ruler who made them. And that may be the answer to my question. When I’m trying to sort out the gray areas, I must go to God, praying for wisdom. Should I drink alcohol? There was a time when I used Jesus’ water-to-wine miracle to defend my drinking. Now though, I know that for me, drinking is self-destructive and that obedience to God means abstinence from alcohol. When trying to discern any such rule governing my behavior, I must always discard my own will, going to God, seeking his will. What do you want me to do here God? For me, getting that ring tattoo was the right thing to do.