Think Before You Ink

I feel like I could post almost everyday, but you know how life gets in the way!
Anyway, let's talk about the frog in the pot. Essentially, it's the dynamic that if you put a frog in a pot of room temperature water,it will sit there quite comfortably. If you slowly turn the temperature up it will stay there until boiled to death. Of course if you were to put the same frog into already scalding water, it would immediately jump out, saving itself.

This seems analogous to how Christians have come to accept how  society has become "frayed at the edges". What I mean by this is that you'll hear a lot (well, some), protest regarding issues such as abortion, stem-cell research, freedom of speech, and others. While this is all necessary, where is all the objection to more subtle evidence of the "fraying".

Examples of this would be (alright, I know I'm going to get beat up over this!), the prevalence of tattoos. I am not that old. However, when I was in high school, the only tattoos you ever saw were on bikers (think Harleys, not Tour de France), servicemen (think army, not washing machine), or convicts (hopefully ex-cons, otherwise that would mean you were in jail too). Very possibly, if you did see any of these it was via the movies, not even in real life. I am not saying tattoos are evidence of a reprobate lifestyle and eternal damnation, and I am not going to use Leviticus as biblical evidence for tattoo condemnation, and I am not referring to those who come to Saving Grace after they have accumulated tattoos. But it sure seems illogical and/or egocentric to deliberately and permanently have your body marked;  as a professing Christian. The questionable nature of this practice is only heightened as the number of tattoos increase, the location becomes more vulgar/bizarre, or the message is divisive. Picture someone with multiple tattoos, including one on their neck saying: Justin Bieber Rocks; all painted after becoming born again. When did this become acceptable? Who turned up the stove slowly enough so we are not upset having to look at body paint everywhere we go? We wouldn't have to if the only people who had them were those who belonged to the aforementioned categories traditionally associated with them. I'm pretty sure that every other clerk with them (these days do you have to have a tattoo to work with the public?), is not an ex-con, member of a biker gang, or ex-service personnel. I worked in corrections for over 14 years and can tell you that inmates without tattoos are the rare exception. As a Christian think about this before you go out a shell out the bucks (oh yeah, aren't we supposed to be good stewards?), to get body "art". What you say, wear, do, and get painted on your body matters. Oh,by the way, I did plenty of stupid things before I got saved. I'm just lucky that there isn't any outward physical evidence of it.

As Christians, let's not prejudge people with tattoos, but let's also not ignore that at one time society recognized this as a crude practice, primarily limited to the fringes of a polite society. I miss a polite society where most people were considerate enough not to use foul language in public, play loud vulgar music, walk around in different stages of undress, and not have tattoos from their toes to their heads.

Christians; Think Before You Ink