Think Twice...

Broken Masterpieces Tim has linked to an interesting article on CNN titled, Newest tattoo trend? Removal. It seems that, for many people, once the novelty of their tatoos has worn off... they realize that the tatoo won't. The article tells of one 23 year old that now regrets the tatoos she had placed on her body just a few years prior. ""I can't stand having them anymore," said Baker, who lives in New York's Hudson Valley. "It's just not how I want to portray myself anymore."" Cause and effect... the concept seems to have been lost on post-moderns. The article further states, "Think. Will you enjoy having your fraternity letters on your backside in a decade?" This echoes what Hugh Hewitt has stated in the most unpopular chapter in his book, In, But Not Of. Hugh related, on Greg Koukl's Stand to Reason radio show, that the biggest complaints he's gotten from youth is that they can't understand why they shouldn't be allowed to do what they want to with their bodies. But they miss the point. Hugh isn't advocating that they not be allowed to have tatoos... only that they realize the consequences! (and, that they not whine about the consequences that they should have understood from the get-go) This issue is rearing it's head up in, of all places, the church. We have some church members that consider tatoos to simply be a generational gap issue. In fact, they consider tatoos to be a sort of witnessing tool. By their way of simplistic thinking they suppose that it correlates to Paul becoming Greek for the Greek, etc. Sincerely, I suppose, they believe it helps them approach those that would not necessarily listen to a Christian otherwise. There is an element of truth to what they say. I mean, we certainly need to be aware of where the non-Christian is coming from. But since when do we permit the cultural values of the non-Christian to mandate how we should approach them? Being Light in the Darkness implies distinction. Yet the core issue is that of maturity. Does it really show a mature, serious frame of mind to hear someone express such concern over how they want to portray themselves? Do you really want that tatoo? Consider the costs, "No hard numbers exist for tattoo removals, but medical professionals report more people coming in for laser treatments in recent years. Dr. Elizabeth McBurney, a New Orleans-area dermatologist, said she used to do five laser treatments a month in the 1980s. She did twice that one day recently. Lasers require several treatments over a period of weeks, can cost hundreds of dollars and can be painful. Also, a faint trace of the tattoo remains."