When an opinion poll was made about tattoos, Toni had an interesting response~ I've given some thought to this question. I find it interesting. While I personally would never permanently alter my body with tattoo art, I have not given much thought as to whether it was "wrong". But it made me think of something in the handbook for my kids' school. Under the section Dress code and uniform policy it says that at their school "we desire our students to learn to care for their appearance and to be concerned about the image they present. In 1 Cor. 3:16 the Lord tells us that "our bodies are the temple of God." We should reflect God in everything we do, including our outward appearance." It goes on to say that they believe that our dress and appearance affects attitude toward learning and toward other people. Among other things body piercing (other than ears) tattoos (real or fake) and distracting hair color or dye is prohibited. The part that sticks out for me in all that is being concerned about the image we present. I mean I suppose we could talk forever about how are bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. Christ lives in us. Our bodies are a "TEMPLE" for the Holy Spirit to reside. This is not small potatoes. I think we forget this or never fully understand the implications of that and really start to think that we OWN our bodies and we do not. They are God's and He created them for a purpose. But all that aside, let's just focus on the other point of presenting an image to others. Are we just like the world in the way we dress or by our trendy tattoos and piercing? One of the hardest things for me as a Christian is to not get caught up in what the world tells me I must do or must have and instead keep my focus on things eternal. We are called to not be like this world. I think it's important to consider how much of what we do is so that we "fit in" to the worlds standards rather than focusing on God's.
page created July 15, 2003