I have a devil tattoo on my hip. Got it at the end of my high school career (BC… before I knew Christ).
So many times we do things (body practices) like getting tattoos, face lifts, coloring our hair, etc. without asking any spiritual questions. Truth is, we don’t think God really cares about what we do with our bodies.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not against tattoos or hair coloring. I just think we should ask some spiritual questions about our body practices since our bodies speak a word about God.
Things like…
-Does it have any spiritual significance?
-Does it have anything to say about my relationship with God?
-Does it say anything about God’s meta narrative?
I have another tattoo, barbarian.
It comes from the book, The Barbarian Way, by Irwin McManus. It’s one of my top ten books. It challenged me not to live a domesticated, civilized faith. “The call of Jesus is far more barbaric. It is a call to live in this world as citizens of an entirely different kingdom.” (McManus, 32)
I decided to get a tattoo to remind myself of who I am and how I am called to live for Christ.
Now when others look at me (and my faith) like I’m some freak from another planet, I simply look to my wrist and am reminded, “Ah yes, I am a barbarian.”
If you think about it, both my tattoos say something significant about my relationship (or lack of) with Jesus.
So what kind of spiritual questions should we be asking as we alter, add and subtract from our bodies? The body was made by Him and for Him. (Romans 11:36)
And… our bodies speak a word about God.
What does your body say?
