"Or Tattoo Yourselves..."

 "I want to get a tattoo of..." 

Even if these words have not come out of your own mouth, you have likely heard them from a child, a spouse, a friend, or someone else close to you. At various times in my life, I myself have considered getting a tattoo. But how should Christians think about getting a tattoo? All Bible-believing Christians agree that there are specific decisions about what we do with our own bodies that are clearly contrary to Scripture (decisions such as engaging in drunkenness, or committing suicide) and specific decisions about what we do with our own bodies that are a matter of mere personal preference (decisions such as wearing a specific color or style of clothing, or eating specific cuisine). However, Bible-believing Christians differ as to whether getting a tattoo should normally be seen as entirely in the 'mere personal preference' category, or if there are reasons Christians should normally refrain from getting tattoos. Christians should refrain from getting tattoos for at least three reasons: to honor God as the craftsman of our appearance, to honor God as the definer of our individuality, and to honor God as the giver of our health.

The first reason that Christians should refrain from getting tattoos is to honor God as the craftsman of our appearance. Before birth, God fashioned each child's physical body in the womb (Psa 139:13; Job 10:8; 31:15; Isa 49:1). David confesses, "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well" (Psa 139:14). As a graffiti artist spray-painting pictures or words on the Venus de Milo or Michaelangelo's David would be an affront to the sculptors of those works, so the tattoo artist placing permanent pictures or words into our flesh does not enhance but detracts from the work of our creator. 

The second reason that Christians should refrain from getting tattoos is to honor God as the definer of our individuality. If confronted with the question, "Who has the right to define who you are as a person?" many people in American or European nations today would answer: "I do." As part of its worldview, Western civilization has increasingly embraced the concept of "expressive individualism," which Carl Trueman defines as:

the belief that each person must act based on expressing his or her core feelings and intuition, and in so doing they become “authentic,” or, to put it another way, they become really themselves.

The expression of feelings and intuitions, permanently etched into the skin, is one way that people strive for authentic self-identification, signaling personal values to whoever sees the tattoos. However, Christians should recognize that our individuality should not be a matter of self-chosen images or slogans tattooed on the body, but a matter living out our Christian calling in light of the specific spiritual gifts God has given us (Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 12:4-30) and the specific circumstances in which God has providentially placed us. A myriad of New Testament verses speak of Christian identity, telling us (to give just a few examples) how we are a "new creation" (2 Cor 5:17), "God's handiwork" (Eph 1:7), and "temples of the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor 6:19-20). We do not have to create an identity for ourselves. And when Jesus teaches about how we are to express our identity to others, He does not say, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you get a tattoo," but, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). God is the definer of our individuality, and His Word gives us principles on how to best express our individuality.

The third reason that Christians should refrain from getting tattoos is to honor God as the giver of our health. There are health risks associated with getting tattoos. The Mayo Clinic warns that tattoos may cause allergic reactions, reactions to MRIs, diseases spread through the blood, skin infections, and other skin problems. An article published by the National Institutes of Health indicates that "tattoo ink induces inflammation in the draining lymph node and alters the immune response to vaccination." There is some research indicating that tattoos may be linked to cancer. In light of the health risks associated with tattoos, both proven risks and potential risks, wisdom would indicate that we should not get a tattoo, thus unnecessarily risking detriment to the health that God has given us.

Some people believe that tattoos are just a matter of taste, and no more of a moral issue than eating different flavors of ice cream. However, there are no Bible verses that prohibit eating certain ice cream flavors, whereas Leviticus 19:28 says, "You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the LORD." Though this Old Testament verse is not legally binding on Christians, it is still Scripture, and as "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim 3:16-17), Leviticus 19:28 should inform Christian sensibilities. Though tattoos today are not associated with a specific pagan religion, as they were during Old Testament times, they are associated with an expressive individualism that may be similar to pagan religions in terms of reorienting identity and allegiance around contra-biblical values. At the very least, the fact that the only reference to tattoos in Scripture is a negative statement should give Christians pause when considering whether to get a tattoo.

There are Christians who argue that they are getting a tattoo not just as an expression of self-chosen identity, but for the glory of God. They may plan to get a tattoo of a Bible verse or phrase from a hymn, etc. However, God does not only tell us to glorify Him to others; He also tells us how to go about glorifying Him to others. In 1 Timothy 2:9-10, Paul writes:

likewise [I teach] also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.

1 Peter 3:3-4 says,

Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

The way to glorify God is not through external adornments: through elaborate clothing, hairstyle, jewelry, nor (by application of the principle here) through tattoos. Rather, we should glorify God through the way He has instructed us: inner beauty expressed outwardly in good works, which benefit others.

Neither of these arguments–that tattoos are just a matter of taste or that tattoos can be used with the motive of glorifying God–are sufficient to prove that Christians should get tattoos, given the biblical prohibition against tattoos and the biblical instructions on how glorifying God is not a matter of external appearance.

Christians should refrain from getting tattoos to honor God as the craftsman of our appearance, to honor God as the definer of our individuality, and to honor God as the giver of our health. This matters to the church as we "consider how to stir up one another to love and good works" (Heb 10:24) and as we encourage one another to keep ourselves "unstained from the world" (Jas 1:27).