Cultural acceptance of tattoos has changed a lot in the last few decades - But as our children near the age of 18 what should we think about them getting one?
When my daughter was two years old, she had spent the day with a lovely friend of mine who was covered head-to-toe in tattoos. When I took my little girl home, she disappeared into her room with a colouring pen, only to reappear with her own hand-drawn squiggles covering every inch of her arms. She was delighted with her body art. I was horror-struck.
I did not want her imitating a practice that I thought was antithetical to Scripture. I would have to take extra care to teach her that the Bible expressly forbade tattoos. I wondered if Leviticus was suitable bedtime reading for a two-year-old.
I now bear a permanent mark on my skin that reminds me daily of who I belong to. Trust me, there are days when I really need that reminder!
Up until that point in my life, I had not questioned how believers were to interpret the laws of Moses. Part of the Sinai Law includes the words in Leviticus 19:28, which says, “You are not to make gashes on your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves; I am the LORD.” How could I, as a believer committed to take all of Scripture seriously, question that?
How should we discuss this?
Ten years have passed, and now I have three tattoos on my left arm. Over that decade, I began to question my assumptions. Were tattoos forbidden to Christians? Were they sinful or even demonic? As I explored these issues, I was not just wrestling with a theoretical debate. Once I felt they were theologically acceptable, there was more to consider. If I was going to get my own tattoos, I needed to consider what message I would be conveying to my children, to my church community, and to my unbelieving neighbours, and how it would impact my walk with God.
One of my tattoos is a transliteration of the Hebrew words that mean ‘Set apart for Yahweh’
For any Christian parent who is looking to navigate the question of tattoos with their children, these are the sort of questions worth discussing. The legal age for getting a tattoo is 18, but this is one of those ongoing dialogues about culture and practice that happens through family life when they’re younger. I do think it is important to be prayerful, submitted to the Spirit, and humble as we approach topics that can so easily be treated in a black-and-white manner, especially when people can get passionate about their opinion.
No longer slaves
One of my tattoos is a transliteration of the Hebrew words that mean ‘Set apart for Yahweh’. God spoke these words over Israel to emphasise their identity as separate to the nations around them (Leviticus 20:26). They were surrounded by pagan nations and God was drawing his people to himself, to live in holiness. Today, God wants every believer to be part of “a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you” (1 Peter 2:9).
As I regularly spend time building connections with the New Age community, my tattoo is a constant reminder for me that my life is set apart for Jesus
For the Israelites, being distinct from the nations around them meant living out their new identity by not imitating pagan practices. They had just been brought out of 400 years of slavery in Egypt. What did God want them to realise? They weren’t slaves anymore! They were free, his holy people and chosen nation (Deuteronomy 6:7). In the Ancient Near East, ownership tattoos were regularly used to mark slaves. God didn’t want Israel relating to that identity anymore. For Israel, tattoos were a step back into their old identity as slaves. They were not to have anyone else’s name on them, except that of Yahweh.
Furthermore, cutting the skin was sometimes used by pagans of the Ancient Near East in mourning and religious ceremonies. The shedding of blood placated the gods. We see the priests of Baal cutting themselves for the gods when they compete against Elijah to see rain fall on the land (1 Kings 18:28). It is likely tattoos and self-harm were used in rites for the dead and rituals for deities.
As Christians, our distinctives to the world will look different to the ones Israel needed
For Israel, the association of tattoos with slavery and pagan religious ceremonies meant that the law against tattoos was crucial in the formation of Israel’s new identity. Tattoos do not carry that association in the 21st century West. Even the cultural stigma that tattoos used to carry in a professional capacity has changed. As Christians, our distinctives to the world will look different to the ones Israel needed. Avoiding tattoos is not what will make a Christian distinct from culture today.
All scripture is useful for teaching and training
Aren’t we just picking and choosing the bits of the law that just suits our modern tastes? Well, if you’ve ever eaten a steak cooked rare (banned in Lev 19:26), or cut the hair on the sides of your head (banned in Lev 19:27), or you don’t routinely stand up in the presence of the aged (commanded in Lev 19:32), then you’ve already seen that the Levitical law isn’t a blanket application to our lives today. More questions need to be asked about how and why we apply one law and not another to the life of the believer in the New Covenant. That’s a topic for another day but it does teach us that it is reasonable to question the tattoo law’s relevance for us now whilst holding Scripture highly.
Regardless, the Levitical laws point us to the bigger picture of what our lives should look like as a witness of Christ. Perhaps tattoos aren’t the issue for our Western culture, but it should prompt each of us to ask: what is God asking me to step away from so that I don’t live in my old identity anymore?
Jesus constantly taught that the law pointed to something greater: the issues of the heart
Jesus constantly taught that the law pointed to something greater: the issues of the heart. God asks us to let go of some things that hinder our walks with Him, or that make us forget that we are new creations in Christ. For me, getting a tattoo was a way of stepping away from fear and my assumptions, and expressing my ongoing journey with the Lord through ink on my skin. I now bear a permanent mark on my skin that reminds me daily of who I belong to. Trust me, there are days when I really need that reminder!
Living lives with integrity
Fundamentally, as we live our lives obedient to Christ, we are called to bear witness to the Gospel to those around us, and we must constantly be asking ourselves how our daily life choices affect that witness. As I regularly spend time building connections with the New Age community, my tattoo is a constant reminder for me that my life is set apart for Jesus. It also promotes evangelistic conversations along the way when I’m asked about it.
Read more:
The uncomfortable truths of Wild Cherry: What Christian parents need to know
Meditate on 1 Peter 2:9. If you or your child were to get a tattoo, would you be able to carry your identity as a new creation in Christ, and proclaim the praises of the one who has called you with integrity? Replace the word ‘tattoo’ with just about any decision we are making in life, and that should help us live our lives in holiness to the praise of the One who has saved us.
