Addictions, bad and good........tattoos of Bible verses; thoughts?

[farouk]

@Tun Lin FYI.............thread I started.....any wisdom?

[farouk]

@Not me FYI............any wisdom on this 'addiction' aspect of the topic?

[Not me]

7 minutes ago, farouk said:

@Not me FYI............any wisdom on this 'addiction' aspect of the topic?

I did make a post on another thread concerning my own battle with addiction and being set free from it by God Himself opening up what it means to be dead in Christ…. It has been close to thirty years and the freedom(s) and the glory(s) get ever the deeper….

Oh, to have a heart that would follow Him fully….

 

To the having of such a heart be our heart’s, blessings farouk, Not me 

[farouk]

18 hours ago, Tristen said:

I agree - Romans 14 is a great guiding chapter regarding how Christians should approach these disputable issues.

 

@Tristen Indeed so. As per Romans 14, people should be left to act before the Lord, one way or another.

And if indeed the young lady with whom we spoke had an evident quiet joy for witness purposes in having willingly submitted to perforation with a John 3.16 inking, it would not be for anyone else to second guess her.

[farouk]

Hi @NConly You're a military man....FYI...... so any wisdom for us about this topic? Often tattoos have been the preserve of military ppl, sometimes in faith, patriotic or family themes.

[NConly]

17 minutes ago, farouk said:

Hi @NConly You're a military man....FYI...... so any wisdom for us about this topic? Often tattoos have been the preserve of military ppl, sometimes in faith, patriotic or family themes.

I have four and I see nothing wrong in them. I believe the Bible says not to cut or mark skin for the dead. None of mine are in remembrance of the dead.

[farouk]

3 minutes ago, NConly said:

I have four and I see nothing wrong in them. I believe the Bible says not to cut or mark skin for the dead. None of mine are in remembrance of the dead.

@NConly Some Christians are hostile to tattoos. Others from a military background or who are not ashamed to proclaim a cause in which they deeply believe regard it as an honor to be perforated with a permanent inking or inkings that reflect(s) it.

Are any of your faith or military related in design, maybe?

Increasingly in recent decades military spouses have widely and strongly desired to opt for such inkings also.

[Tristen]

47 minutes ago, farouk said:

As per Romans 14, people should be left to act before the Lord, one way or another.

I would probably be careful to acknowledge that Romans 14 tells us how to deal with grey areas of doctrine - and not moral actions that are already explicitly judged by God. The passage, for example, does not make allowances for us to overlook explicit sins "before the Lord". Romans 14 is more about how we deal with topics that are more ambiguous in scripture - remembering that God judges the heart, rather than outward expressions.

I think tattoos definitely falls under this category of an ambiguous issue of personal conscience before God.

 

I would further note that Romans 14 gives us two perspectives:

Perspective 1) How to properly deal with the issue when it is someone else making the decision for themselves.

Romans 14:4
Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

That means, even if we disagree with her, we must accept that the decision is between the young lady and God and we have to trust that she is in God's hands.

Perspective 2) What factors to consider when making such a decision for ourselves.

Romans 14:15-21
15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil;

. . .

19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.

I would therefore suggest that the young lady contemplating getting a tattoo should consider whether or not a weaker brother (who doesn't yet understand freedom in Christ) will be offended by her tattoo. NOTE: I am not suggesting a right or wrong answer - just that someone "walking in love" must consider the effects of their actions on others when assessing their conscience before God.

 

1 hour ago, farouk said:

And if indeed the young lady with whom we spoke had an evident quiet joy for witness purposes in having willingly submitted to perforation with a John 3.16 inking, it would not be for anyone else to second guess her.

I think we have the right to both have, and to express, our own position on the matter. But yes, we must ultimately accept that the decision is between the young lady and God. If she has peace with God about the decision, then that is the end of the matter. "To her own master she stands or falls. Indeed, she will be made to stand, for God is able to make her stand.".

 

[NConly]

1 hour ago, farouk said:

@NConly Some Christians are hostile to tattoos. Others from a military background or who are not ashamed to proclaim a cause in which they deeply believe regard it as an honor to be perforated with a permanent inking or inkings that reflect(s) it.

Are any of your faith or military related in design, maybe?

Increasingly in recent decades military spouses have widely and strongly desired to opt for such inkings also.

I have the Bald eagle for love of my country the other three are just personal preference that reflect something in my life.

[farouk]

8 hours ago, Tristen said:

I would probably be careful to acknowledge that Romans 14 tells us how to deal with grey areas of doctrine - and not moral actions that are already explicitly judged by God. The passage, for example, does not make allowances for us to overlook explicit sins "before the Lord". Romans 14 is more about how we deal with topics that are more ambiguous in scripture - remembering that God judges the heart, rather than outward expressions.

I think tattoos definitely falls under this category of an ambiguous issue of personal conscience before God.

 

I would further note that Romans 14 gives us two perspectives:

Perspective 1) How to properly deal with the issue when it is someone else making the decision for themselves.

Romans 14:4
Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

That means, even if we disagree with her, we must accept that the decision is between the young lady and God and we have to trust that she is in God's hands.

Perspective 2) What factors to consider when making such a decision for ourselves.

Romans 14:15-21
15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil;

. . .

19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.

I would therefore suggest that the young lady contemplating getting a tattoo should consider whether or not a weaker brother (who doesn't yet understand freedom in Christ) will be offended by her tattoo. NOTE: I am not suggesting a right or wrong answer - just that someone "walking in love" must consider the effects of their actions on others when assessing their conscience before God.

 

I think we have the right to both have, and to express, our own position on the matter. But yes, we must ultimately accept that the decision is between the young lady and God. If she has peace with God about the decision, then that is the end of the matter. "To her own master she stands or falls. Indeed, she will be made to stand, for God is able to make her stand.".

 

@Tristen Oh what an excellent, Godly, balanced and well thought out post!

Whatever one's views may be, when my wife and I actually talked to the young lady I mentioned, it provided a memory of her quiet joy in her favorite Bible verse (John 3.16): a joy which surely brought respect for her decision and witnessing determination as a young adult to go into the tattoo parlor.

( cc. @Rosie1jack2pauline3 )

Edited February 25, 2023 by farouk