Dear Pastor,

I hope all is well with you, and do continue to do God's work in helping people. I really hope you will help me with this situation I am having, and I know other young people like me would love your advice.

I have always wanted to get a tattoo, but I am afraid of the consequences it may have according to the Bible and the Lord. I am a God-fearing young man and believe in the creator, heaven, and thinking twice. I am not afraid of a little needle and already know the medical problems one may have if a tattoo is not done properly. I want to get tattoos all over both my arms but haven't got any as yet and will not get any until I know for sure what I am really getting myself into.

Five years from now I will be 25, so I have a lot of time to work, save, and begin the skin-marking ordeal. I would like your advice before I do so. I don't have to get a tattoo, so I will take whatever you say into consideration.

God Fearing

Dear God Fearing,

I thank you for writing. I believe that you are indeed a good young man and you wish to please the Lord in everything you do. It has become fashionable for many people to wear tattoos. Some very dark- skinned people get tattoos on their hands and other parts of the body that can hardly be seen because of their complexion. Lots of people who bleach want their tattoos to be seen by everybody. I am not saying that that is the sole reason why they bleach, but that is part of the reason. Some bleach because they have low self-esteem. Others do because they believe that blackness is a curse. Such persons should be pitied. We should rejoice and take pride in our blackness. The Bible speaks highly of blackness.

Now, back to the tattoo. I was only trying to point out that some tattoos cannot be seen easily because of some people's complexion. You want to know whether the wearing of tattoos is condemned in the Bible. In the Book of Leviticus chapter 19:28, we read, "Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you, I am the Lord."

In the Living Bible it reads, "You shall not cut yourselves nor put tattoo marks upon yourselves in connection with funeral rites, I am the Lord." There are other verses in the Bible that condemn the wearing of tattoos.

It is well known that some of the tattoos that people wear are symbols of their superstition. However, there are those who innocently tattoo the initials or the names of their lovers or family members and later on in life wish they had not done so.

I will not condemn anyone who wishes to wear a tattoo, but I would caution such a person to seriously consider what he or she is doing and how it might affect his or her future in the workplace and elsewhere. I would not recommend that you get a tattoo, but the decision is solely yours.

Pastor