Question:
In Leviticus 19, we are told that we are not to get tattoos. Does that still apply today?
Response: Leviticus 19:28 in the English Standard Version states, "You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord."
This verse is found in a passage where God is largely instructing the Israelites about abstaining from pagan practices that had roots in idolatry. The theme of Leviticus as well as the chapters surrounding this verse is that God is holy and unique. He is not to be replaced, reinvented, or ignored. When He refers to not making any cuts on your body for the dead, His audience was probably thinking about people slashing at their bodies in very passionate outbursts of mourning or in pagan ritual. A wide array of nations have exhibited this practice at some point in their history and it is still done in some countries. Certainly, cutting one's self to alleviate emotional pain or for pagan rituals is against the law based upon this verse.
When God speaks of tattoos here, the original audience may have been thinking of some kind of mark associated with heathen worship, though the Israelites probably had contact with people of the lower classes of Arabia and Egypt who wore tattoos which had no idolatrous usage. It is wrong to mark our bodies to promote or communicate our independence from God or identify ourselves with values which God opposes.
Now, while it is possible that some tattoos are not necessarily prohibited in scripture, that doesn't make getting a tattoo the right thing to do. When you come up against a decision that is not black and white, here are some questions (from the book
Radical Reformission) that should prove helpful:
- Is it beneficial to me personally and to the gospel generally (I Cor. 6:12)?
- Will I lose self-control and be mastered by what I participate in (I Cor. 6:12)?
- Will I be doing this in the presence of someone who I know will fall into sin as a result (I Cor. 8:9-10)?
- Is it a violation of the laws of my city, state, or nation (Rom. 13:1-7)?
- If I fail to do this, will I lose opportunities to share the gospel (I Cor. 10:27-30)?
- Can I do this with a clear conscience (Acts 24:16)?
- Will this cause me to sin by feeding sinful desires (Rom. 13:13-14)?
- Am I convinced that this is what God desires for me to do (Rom 13:5)?
- Does my participation proceed from my faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 14:23)?
- Am I doing this to help other people, or am I just being selfish (I Cor. 10:24)?
- Can I do this in a way that glorifies God (I Cor. 10:31-33)?
- Am I following the example of Jesus Christ to help save sinners (I Cor. 10:33-11:1)?
Let me provide an example. I’ve heard a story of a man who went on a mission trip to Honduras. He was a believer who had lived his pre-Christian life in a culture that valued tattoos. When he became a believer, he went out and got a huge tattoo on his calf of Jesus on the cross. When the mission team went out to play soccer, this man wrapped his tattoo with an Ace bandage because he found that his tattoo damaged his witness. Of course, this story must be taken in the context of the culture of Honduras. Both believers and non-believers would say, “So you’re a Christian? Why do you have a tattoo?” In his culture, having a tattoo definitely distracted people from the message of Jesus.
Tattoos especially have a tendency to be a bad idea. It has been said, “Tattoos are today’s reminder of yesterday's conformity.” The problem with tattoos is that they don’t go away.
Sometimes, we have a tendency to ask, “What is allowed? How far is too far? How far can I go?” rather than asking, “How can I please God?” And so we live like we are under the law—just a new law defined by ourselves. We become more like the Pharisees than like Jesus. The question needs to be, “What pleases God? How can I use what I have been given to honor God and love people?”