DEFACING OF SACRED BUILDINGS

From My Perspective - - -

Graffiti has been a common practice and annoyance. If a Law Enforcement Officer sees one doing it, there can be a variety of consequences for the individual who is doing it. Actually, it is deemed a misdemeanor and includes a penalty. It was almost unheard of to see any evidence of Church Buildings being defaced by one’s Graffiti. There is, of course, a marked difference between graffiti and art. At one time, product art was done professionally on the side of a Building to advertise a particular product. Although this is no longer done, one can still get a glimpse of this art on some older buildings. Even though the art is fading, one can still have an appreciation for both the skill of the artist and the long-standing display of his art.

We have progressed in the twenty-first century into an area of “Body Art”, otherwise identified as Tattoos. Should an individual have an “Artist’s” handiwork displayed on his or her body? Are Tattoos an indication of rebellion, or is it an effort to have an individualistic identity? Is a Tattoo something that is attractive, or does it become a distraction? Is this a cultural-identity trend, and/or does it become associated with a gang-symbol? In a much broader sense, should a “professing Christian” pay to have his/her body tattooed?

Just a few thoughts to consider on this subject (amid a wave of protests that are often heard), from a Biblical Cultural point of view. If one seeks information on the Internet, most Websites "dance around" the issue of Tattoos (as they do other things). One place to begin is Psalm 139:13-15 and the sense of the Psalmist, “You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You…” The thought is that God has made us the way he wants us to be. When wishes to alter or change his/her appearance, it is effectively an expression of non-agreement with God, the Creator. Regrettably, there aren't many Scripture Verses that argue the case for Body Alteration one way or another. For Tattooing and Piercing, perhaps Leviticus 19:28 is the most clear:  "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord." Ironically, the only other place where a Tattoo or Body marking is mentioned is the Book of Revelation and the Mark of the Beast. In Revelation 13:16-17, "And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead. and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name." 

Returning to the idea of Defacing Of Sacred Buildings, one needs a sense of how God has designed each person and how He wants the person to view himself/herself. Consider, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. The Lord warns several times of the seriousness of defiling the temple of God – your body!  Again, in I Corinthians 3:16-17, “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” In other words, in God’s sight, you have been designed to be a Sacred Building. Your Sacred Building will be inhabited by either the Holy Spirit, or a representative from demonic legions. Either way, one can conclude that a Tattoo, regardless of an individual’s reason or rationalization, is a Defacing of a Sacred Building.

In the Shorter Catechism, one is asked: What is the chief end of man? The answer is: Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. One is instructed to “honor God with your body.” If one wishes to express or display anything with his/her body, a place to begin might be Galatians 5:22-23, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control..”  Consider these things with me!