Carefully, consider your decision. Granted tattoos may seem to be a current rage; many people have had their arms; ankles; calves; necks and even more personal parts of their bodies (inked) these days. Watch a football game or some other sports activity and the players will likely display a variety of graphic cartouches, impressionistic symbols or demonic representations with the intention of attracting attention. Some fashion models even reveal their own tattoos in expression of their "dress" or state-of-undress to draw attention to their boldness; their seeming devil-may-care (pun intended) lifestyle. I suspect these vain models may not truly have the permanent type of "inking" we may assume they show; just guessing.
For a while tattoos may look colorful and stunning; a lot of young people think so. However, as our bodies age and our skin becomes older, less taunt and stretched, what once was thought to be attractive becomes distorted and lacks the original color quality. After several years, many of those, who in the past sported these skin decorations, have chosen to seek very expensive medical help in having them removed; not without a lot of pain and discomfort, and not to mention the very expensive cost of having their needlework removed.
Years ago, a friend tried to persuade me to get a sailor-style tattoo, something like a curling wave with dolphins leaping out of it. Sounds dramatic, but back then I said; “no thanks!” This was back in the late eighties and early 90’s when I was pretty active in ocean-racing sailboats in Florida. I never regretted my decision to not have "inking" done!
Our Bible makes very strong declarations (Leviticus 19:28) that we are not to cut, tattoo or pierce our bodies for adornment, as these acts are not pleasing to God. Our bodies we may call ours; actually they are not, since we belong to God. He created us. He considers each one of us already most beautiful in His eyes, not needing any enhancements or colorful decorations. Each one of us is therefore His masterpiece, and we are not supposed to attempt to redesign His “creative” work. Also, other trendy cosmetic operations meant to make us look younger or more attractive I have to admit goes against what I believe God desires of us.
We each have the opportunity to make important decisions about how we treat what we call our bodies; our lives; our lifestyle, hopefully, we do so with full understanding of how God; our Creator, sees us treating His wonderful creation (our physical appearance.) So, if you are "thinking 'bout inking" I hope you will pray about your decision -- ask God what He thinks about "ink."
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