Wow! What a response! It is so rewarding to have people comment and question and ask for more information when you preach a sermon. I am so pleased. Yesterday we began our summer sermon series on "Flipping the 10 Commandments" (Sermon available online in a few days.) I want to share with all of you a couple of great points brought out by our wonderful young adults. A group of people I love so dearly… AND, may I add, keep me on my toes! Every generation has its identification. The generation before mine had the Depression and the "Greatest Generation" which won WWII. My generation was identified through the Vietnam War and the Sexual Revolution. The Generation after mine identified themselves with "Grunge Rock" of Nirvana who embraced the "green" movement. Followed by today’s generation. I call them, along with other social commentators, "The Tattooed Generation." This is the generation which has been immersed in information overload and instant communication. This generation identified themselves with tattoos… a once tribal, and very secular practice. It developed cultic followings until finally it has made itself into the main stream of this generation. My message Sunday was the first commandment, "You shall have no other god before Me." This commandment is a simple statement of making correct priorities.
Two illustrations I used regarded tattoos and cell phones. These seem to be the "holy grail" of the current generation. There is not one iota difference between this generation and any other previous American generation. Each has their "holy grail" or "sacred cow." These are subjects and social identifiers which unite a generation. For my generation it was long hair and bell-bottoms.
But, back to the heart of this discussion with my young adults. Something happened to me a while back, which is germaine to the
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. . Those of us who work benevolence are happy to do what the Bible calls "true religion" by feeding the needy. But, so often, people become needy because they have difficulty prioritizing what is a "need" instead of what is a "want." For instance, a few months ago a family came to the church asking for help with food. When they arrived, the lady who was driving, extinguished her cigarette, then got two children out of the back of her tattered van. Holding the hand of one, she hoisted the other (looked like about a 1-year-old) up on her hip. As I watched from the glass door at the front of the building, I heard some rock song playing very loudly. It was her cell phone ringing. She grimmaced and put the little one down as she dug in her purse for her phone. As she finished her call, she walked toward me. I could see the image of a leopard on her upper arm. The tattoo was new. Still raw. It hadn’t even scabbed over yet. As I welcomed her into the building, I could see a second tattoo in the small of her back as she moved past me in her midriff top.
This woman needed food. I want to make it clear. She needed food. She was skinny and her children looked barely nourished. I made sure to get her as much food as we could. Before she left, she asked if we could help her financially because, "My cell phone bill is due and I’m already driving around without insurance on my van." Yes, she may have needed the cell phone to get a job. Yes, she may have been in these cicumstances without any doing of her own. I don’t know. And certainly, after hearing her curse at her children as they screamed while loading them, they could all be in dire circumstance through no fault of their own.
But, let’s just look at priorities in life, IF (and I say IF) she was making these choices on her own. If so…her priorities are all screwed up. Solomon says, "…vanity, vanity, all is vanity" and "Nothing is new under the sun." People, given free reign in their life, will make poor decisions. What we have problem with, is making decisions which point toward God as being #1, the Sovereign in our lives. While the Old Covenant with God prohibits the making of tattoos and body piercings, we do not live under that covenant. Knowing that God prohibited tattoos under that covenant (and many other prohibitions which don’t make sense to us) does it make any difference now? The flat answer is "no". We are under the covenant of grace.
But, grace is a liberty which we all too often take advantage of. Which is why we are left with the right, as free individuals, to make poor decisions with our priorities. The illustrations about tattoos, cell phones, cigarettes etc., point toward the common problem which affects all mankind. If I’m not forced to make God #1, do I really have to? That’s it, isn’t it? I WANT to make God #1, but because I know I can get away with it, I don’t do it. It’s not a matter of whether or not a person gets a tattoo, a cell phone, cigarettes, drugs or anything else which is not a neccessity. It’s a matter of, "I’m free to do anything I please, so get off my back, God. You made the rules, not me. I can prioritize anything in any order I want." Yes, we can. But, the rules don’t change. We still have the burden of knowing that we are not making God #1 when we willfully abuse our priority list by exercising the liberty God gave us through His Son’s sacrifice on the cross.
"Wait a minute, Mark. If I can afford it, you can’t judge me for getting things I can afford. No one is being affected by it. I’m taking care of all my priorities. I have my spiritual ducks in a row." Yep…you’re right. I can’t judge you. But, your harshest judge is not me. In fact a lot of the time, we keep a level of protection around our heart, so we don’t feel the "good guilt" tell us, "I’m trying to fool myself. I know that God looks at my body as a very special gift. Would He approve of this tattoo? Ok, so I’ll get a righteous tattoo…a cross or a fish or a Lion of Judah. I can cover both bases. I can be a part of my generation and not feel guilty about the tattoo… but who am I kidding?" Jesus affirmed Isaiah’s words, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men." (Mt 15:7) Paul wrote in 1Co 6:20 "…you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." and 2Co 5:7 "We live by faith, not by sight."
One of the timeless arguments regarding tattoos is that there is no prohibition, therefore there is a way to honor God with tattoos. This rationalization assumes much. For instance, with the 1Cor. passage above, you would have to assume that Paul was speaking directly about tattoos…he is not. He is talking about what people do with and to their bodies, not for the honor of God, but for their own personal pleasure and indulgence. "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1Cor 10:31 If you have any doubts that God would approve, then to have a tattoo would be sin. "…whatever is not from faith is sin." Rom. 14:23 (NASB)
One of the folks I spoke with, and there were several, said, "My tattoo is beautiful artwork. It is at man’s hand and it glorifies God." Who says? Paul was obviously of the opinion that the body which God gives us, needs no improvement. 1Peter 3:3ff says, "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewellery and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." Priorities… working on inner beauty should be a high priority. Oh that I could be as beautiful inside as I want to be. I wish there were an inner tattoo I could place on my heart which would emote a beauty of Christ which all could see. That would be a priority to have and I would be willing to sacrifice a lot, just to get it. But, instead, I fumble and bungle my way through the silliness of preaching; offending and angering people I love. That’s my role.
For most of us, we easily see the priority problem in others. Feed your children, or buy cigarettes? Pay your insurance premium, or feed your family? Buy drugs, alcohol and depend on some church for food? It’s an ugly scene, isn’t it? But for our affluent and indulgent lifestyle of modern Americans, it’s not so easy to see. Yet, the ugliness can still be there when God is not #1 in our life.
I urge you all to be beautiful people. The number one way you can be absolutely ravishing, impressive, and stunning…is to make God #1 in your life. Jesus said the first commandment was the greatest of all…for a reason. It gets our priorities straight.
(Note from Mark: I could have used any object to make my point. Tattoos and cell phones seem to be the easiest and most relational objects of obsession for modern America. How about sports, children’s activities, business, home projects, hurting relationships, health spas, cosmetics, clothing, corporate ladder climbing, cars, gadgetry, hobbies? There are literally thousands which can push God off of the #1 position.)