IT'S GOTTA HOIT!

Once Upon A Time...

After having spent several hours in a foreign seaport tattoo parlor, Seaman Bobby Sharp bursts out of the doors where his buddies wait for him on the corner. With a wide grin, he pulls up his right sleeve displaying a large red heart with the word "Mom" emblazoned on it.

Pulling up his left sleeve he shows a naked woman on his hefty bicep. For his finale, he rips open his shirt displaying a picture of a large American Eagle with "Old Glory" in it's talons.

For the most part, that was about the only way Americans saw tattoos. Service men saw it as a "badge of honor" of sorts. Nowadays, it's the cool thing to do. It is a sort of trendy status symbol. Some people (men and women) see fit to cover their entire frame with "body art".

While I have never even put one foot into a tonsorial parlor, I know that tattoo "artists" use a needle to apply their craft. Never being a big fan of needles (of any kind), I really can't see how the whole experience can be too pleasurable. It's gotta hoit! Even if it's just for a little while. And not to mention expensive.

On Every Corner

Another, very hard to understand, trend is that of piercing. Just about any and every part of the human anatomy is deemed as a locale for earrings, baubles and bangles. No doubt the rhinestone studs and posts maybe seen as a "thing of beauty". And yet, it totally escapes me how anybody can put themselves through such pain...fleeting though it maybe.

I have seen guys and girls with multiple earrings lining the outer rim of their ears. One specific decoration that completely baffles me is a nose ring that has to be applied through the nostrils. Attached to these hole rendering accessories are some of the saddest faces I have ever seen.

Then there are those who feel it cool to elongate their earlobes. Every time I see somebody with their lobes dangling lower than they were made to, I have to wince in pain. Why any one would want to put themselves through such discomfort is totally beyond me.

God Would Say...?

Leviticus 19:28 is God's warning against tattoos. In fact, in the same verse He tells us not to "cut yourselves in mourning." There are no admonitions against piercing. The Bible, in a way, endorses the use of the practice.

In the book of Exodus the Hebrew Children were told to pierce the ear of their slaves. With this knowledge, it would be hard to say that God is not against it. And yet, I find it hard to justify the practice of exotic punctures. Heck, I wince at the thought of getting paper cuts.

The 2nd Of The Big Two

Nothing can persuade me to believe God would want us to mark ourselves in any way shape or form. This would be especially true in the light of the second big commandment. His kind of love  transforms us to cherish every part of who we are. This transformation can be joyful, mind blowing experience for we are released from the idea we have to find ways to "improve" ourselves.