Tattoo U

Leviticus 19:28 “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourself. I am the Lord.” (NIV)

In honor of my most recent body modification I will start out this blog with the scripture most Spiritual McCarthyites (those that shame and belittle others for having different theological beliefs then the mainstream evangelical western church) take way out of context when dealing with those whom have chosen to adorn their bodies with art.

Leviticus 19 is a call from God for his people of Israel to be holy. He asks this not as a favor but out of a sense of duty one would have of a King or ruler. (Lev. 19:2) Because God is holy, he asks the people that represent him to the entire world, to be the same. It’s like when you were young and your parents expected you to have good manors while you ate out for dinner. As a parent I can tell you, that request is all about me. I don’t want people thinking I am a bad parent because I haven’t taught my children how to behave. So I command my children to sit up straight, not talk with their mouths full and use their quite voice while at the dinner table.

The Israelites where an earthly reflection of who their mighty God was. So to set those apart as His followers, God gave Moses some rules for the Israelites to live by. One of the many mourning practices of the day was to cut yourself or tattoo a deceased loved ones name on your body. This was an outward sign, pride fully worn by the bearers to show the world they missed their loved one. Through God’s eyes death is an extension of life. Those that believe in Jesus to be their rescuer and leader will spend eternity with their maker. If this is true, why mourn? Why not rejoice? Yes, we physically miss that person and there might be a lot of pain from a close death near us, but God is rejoicing and wants us to as well.

The whole nineteenth chapter is full of does and don’ts for us to be Holy. Here are some of my favorites, see which ones you have failed on doing or not doing this week:

Do not lie. (verse 11)
Always judge your neighbors fairly. (verse 1)
Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people. (verse 16)
Keep my Sabbath days of rest and show reverence toward my sanctuary. (verse 30)
Do not trim off the hair on your temples or clip the edges of your beards. (verse 27)
Do not wear clothing woven from two different kinds of fabric. (verse 19)

Even a small tiny lie I tell to protect a friend is a lie. I categorize and pigeon whole people I see walking down the street not knowing a thing about them. Gossip! Eyes roll! When was the last time I kept the Sabbath seeing as how the biblical Sabbath runs from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown? Sunday is biblically not the Sabbath. I don’t know how many times I have gotten funny looks because I haven’t shaved in two or three days. I think every undershirt I own is made of a 50/50 blend. We all fall short of being as holy as God. That is why he is God and we are not.

I didn’t get my tattoos out of mourning the loss of a loved one, so I don’t see how getting a tattoo keeps me from being any more or less holy than a teacher that gossips with her students all day long or the person that has to eat a medium rare hamburger everyday.

What’s that old saying, “When you point a finger at some one you have three pointing back at you?” Leviticus 19 holds guidelines laid down for each of us to strive for while individually trying to become as holy as God. Not rules for us to interpret so we can try to hold others accountable to them. This chapter is just more evidence of how great the body of Christ could be if each of us concentrated on our own spiritual walks instead wasting our time judging others.