Suffering from mistakes from the past (regretting tattoos)

[Zandor]

Hello everyone!

I have put my faith quite recently in Jesus Christ as my saviour (1/2-years ago approximately). And I have really felt how He has taken care of my life and I have felt His love for me in many amazing ways.

The thing is, I have some tattoos from the past which are hurting me mentally. Because I know tattoos are sin (yes they are), and I deeply regret them. I have a dragon on my upper body (made it because it looked cool, quite ugly to be honest) and did not knew back then that the Evil one is described as a dragon in Revelation. Which makes me regret it a lot! I also was stupid enough to tattoo my forearm and well, the result was quite messy to be honest. In my eyes the tattoos are ugly and I can´t stand looking at them, therefore I always (almost) wear long-sleeve shirts to cover them. And that´s the sad part of the story. I´ve always liked my looks and been proud of me, but now that I have found myself for real in Jesus Christ I regret having tattoos (ugly as well) on my body as we as Christian are not supposed to treat our Holy Temple in that way. I also believe we should take care of our bodies in order to glorify God, which is a bit difficult with messy ink on it!

I don´t know how to cope with having to see the tattoos everyday and being reminded of my sins. I know I am forgiven by Jesus for making them, but on the other hand I find it hard to forgive myself and letting go of them as they are always there. I am very thankful I have found Jesus and been saved, but I just wonder how He can help me cope with this issue? I believe Jesus is a healer as well and has promised we are to be healed if we pray for it, and to be honest, I pray every single evening that He would get rid of my tattoos so I can wake up in the morning without them. Because the tattoos somehow hinders me to feel happy about myself, and that scares me.

I am thankful for being able to share this here, it´s an issue which is hurting me a lot. One positive thing is that it has drawn me nearer to Christ in many ways as I seek to find Him and His will for me. Perhaps He has some great plans for sharing my testimony with the tattoo story included somehow. However, would be grateful if someone prayed for me and this issue, it sometimes feels like my prayers are not enough..

God bless you all!

 

[ClothedInGrace]

Hello everyone!

I have put my faith quite recently in Jesus Christ as my saviour (1/2-years ago approximately). And I have really felt how He has taken care of my life and I have felt His love for me in many amazing ways.

The thing is, I have some tattoos from the past which are hurting me mentally. Because I know tattoos are sin (yes they are), and I deeply regret them. I have a dragon on my upper body (made it because it looked cool, quite ugly to be honest) and did not knew back then that the Evil one is described as a dragon in Revelation. Which makes me regret it a lot! I also was stupid enough to tattoo my forearm and well, the result was quite messy to be honest. In my eyes the tattoos are ugly and I can´t stand looking at them, therefore I always (almost) wear long-sleeve shirts to cover them. And that´s the sad part of the story. I´ve always liked my looks and been proud of me, but now that I have found myself for real in Jesus Christ I regret having tattoos (ugly as well) on my body as we as Christian are not supposed to treat our Holy Temple in that way. I also believe we should take care of our bodies in order to glorify God, which is a bit difficult with messy ink on it!

I don´t know how to cope with having to see the tattoos everyday and being reminded of my sins. I know I am forgiven by Jesus for making them, but on the other hand I find it hard to forgive myself and letting go of them as they are always there. I am very thankful I have found Jesus and been saved, but I just wonder how He can help me cope with this issue? I believe Jesus is a healer as well and has promised we are to be healed if we pray for it, and to be honest, I pray every single evening that He would get rid of my tattoos so I can wake up in the morning without them. Because the tattoos somehow hinders me to feel happy about myself, and that scares me.

I am thankful for being able to share this here, it´s an issue which is hurting me a lot. One positive thing is that it has drawn me nearer to Christ in many ways as I seek to find Him and His will for me. Perhaps He has some great plans for sharing my testimony with the tattoo story included somehow. However, would be grateful if someone prayed for me and this issue, it sometimes feels like my prayers are not enough..

God bless you all!

Let those tattoos serve as a reminder of your new life in him. You having tattoos that you got in the past doesn't make God love you any less. God saves people who have done worse than simply getting a dragon tattoo. The apostle Paul had Christians put to death, and you don't see him with a guilty conscious, because in Christ we are justified!

Also a side note, there is nothing sinful about tattoos, it is the type of tattoo you are getting and the reason for it that can be sinful. Plenty of God's children have tattoos of verses or crosses showing their love for him. I planned on getting our Lord's Hebrew name tattooed on my arm, but decided I would save myself the pain

God bless

 

[Zandor]

I have to disagree with you, I believe tattoos are sin even if it is Christian motives. If God had wanted us to have tattoos, He would have crafted us with tattoos, right? And instead of tattoing Bible verses and so on I think it´s better to try to live according to those verses rather than tattoo them on our Holy Temples. And according to 1 Corinthians 6:19 we have received our bodies from God, so who are we to put marks on them really? So I hope you´re saving yourself from the pain then And you´re beautiful as you are, so I don´t see any need of tattoos really on any human being

 

[ClothedInGrace]

I have to disagree with you, I believe tattoos are sin even if it is Christian motives. If God had wanted us to have tattoos, He would have crafted us with tattoos, right? And instead of tattoing Bible verses and so on I think it´s better to try to live according to those verses rather than tattoo them on our Holy Temples. And according to 1 Corinthians 6:19 we have received our bodies from God, so who are we to put marks on them really? So I hope you´re saving yourself from the pain then And you´re beautiful as you are, so I don´t see any need of tattoos really on any human being

Okay, well don't feel so bad about your tattoos, they don't define you, Christ does.

 

[faroukfarouk]

I have to disagree with you, I believe tattoos are sin even if it is Christian motives. If God had wanted us to have tattoos, He would have crafted us with tattoos, right? And instead of tattoing Bible verses and so on I think it´s better to try to live according to those verses rather than tattoo them on our Holy Temples. And according to 1 Corinthians 6:19 we have received our bodies from God, so who are we to put marks on them really? So I hope you´re saving yourself from the pain then And you´re beautiful as you are, so I don´t see any need of tattoos really on any human being

My wife and I talked to a young lady with John 3.16 in full inked on her wrist area; it was her favorite verse and mine also. I'm sure other conversations have resulted as well because she decided to become tattooed.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Let those tattoos serve as a reminder of your new life in him. You having tattoos that you got in the past doesn't make God love you any less. God saves people who have done worse than simply getting a dragon tattoo. The apostle Paul had Christians put to death, and you don't see him with a guilty conscious, because in Christ we are justified!

Also a side note, there is nothing sinful about tattoos, it is the type of tattoo you are getting and the reason for it that can be sinful. Plenty of God's children have tattoos of verses or crosses showing their love for him. I planned on getting our Lord's Hebrew name tattooed on my arm, but decided I would save myself the pain

God bless

Hi there; great screen name! I love the theme of grace in Ephesians especially.

You put you're 17 and mentioned about the possibility of a tattoo: are you old enough to decide? what I mean is, in some jurisdictions you have to be 18 before you can use a tattoo parlor, anyway.

Blessings.

 

[ClothedInGrace]

Hi there; great screen name! I love the theme of grace in Ephesians especially.

You put you're 17 and mentioned about the possibility of a tattoo: are you old enough to decide? what I mean is, in some jurisdictions you have to be 18 before you can use a tattoo parlor, anyway.

Blessings.

Yeah where I live you can get a tattoo at 17 with parental consent.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Yeah where I live you can get a tattoo at 17 with parental consent.

Oh really; so mom or dad would be able to sign for you. There are some states that allow it, yes. Kind of depends at the moment a lot on mom or dad's thoughts about it also, I guess, right?

 

[faroukfarouk]

Hello everyone!

I have put my faith quite recently in Jesus Christ as my saviour (1/2-years ago approximately). And I have really felt how He has taken care of my life and I have felt His love for me in many amazing ways.

The thing is, I have some tattoos from the past which are hurting me mentally. Because I know tattoos are sin (yes they are), and I deeply regret them. I have a dragon on my upper body (made it because it looked cool, quite ugly to be honest) and did not knew back then that the Evil one is described as a dragon in Revelation. Which makes me regret it a lot! I also was stupid enough to tattoo my forearm and well, the result was quite messy to be honest. In my eyes the tattoos are ugly and I can´t stand looking at them, therefore I always (almost) wear long-sleeve shirts to cover them. And that´s the sad part of the story. I´ve always liked my looks and been proud of me, but now that I have found myself for real in Jesus Christ I regret having tattoos (ugly as well) on my body as we as Christian are not supposed to treat our Holy Temple in that way. I also believe we should take care of our bodies in order to glorify God, which is a bit difficult with messy ink on it!

I don´t know how to cope with having to see the tattoos everyday and being reminded of my sins. I know I am forgiven by Jesus for making them, but on the other hand I find it hard to forgive myself and letting go of them as they are always there. I am very thankful I have found Jesus and been saved, but I just wonder how He can help me cope with this issue? I believe Jesus is a healer as well and has promised we are to be healed if we pray for it, and to be honest, I pray every single evening that He would get rid of my tattoos so I can wake up in the morning without them. Because the tattoos somehow hinders me to feel happy about myself, and that scares me.

I am thankful for being able to share this here, it´s an issue which is hurting me a lot. One positive thing is that it has drawn me nearer to Christ in many ways as I seek to find Him and His will for me. Perhaps He has some great plans for sharing my testimony with the tattoo story included somehow. However, would be grateful if someone prayed for me and this issue, it sometimes feels like my prayers are not enough..

God bless you all!

Hi Zandor, a good tattoo artist can sometimes alter a disliked tattoo design and turn it into something preferred. (For example, a converted Christian woman with an ex-bf's name tattooed could have a name such as 'Bill' turned into 'Bible', etc.) A good tattoo artist could advise.

 

[ClothedInGrace]

Oh really; so mom or dad would be able to sign for you. There are some states that allow it, yes. Kind of depends at the moment a lot on mom or dad's thoughts about it also, I guess, right?

Yes, my dad approved of my tattoo choice, but he kind of forgot about looking for a tattoo shop, and I am fine skipping out on the pain. I really wanted the Lord's name written on me as a symbolic reminder he is always with me and that I am one of his.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Yes, my dad approved of my tattoo choice, but he kind of forgot about looking for a tattoo shop, and I am fine skipping out on the pain. I really wanted the Lord's name written on me as a symbolic reminder he is always with me and that I am one of his.

There is always Drnumb dot com , bu if you're not really wanting to do it, there's not much point in checking out the site, I guess for someone your age that would be planning to do it, though, the question whether dad - or also often - mom has a tattoo might also be quite relevant. Blessings.

 

[ClothedInGrace]

There is always Drnumb dot com , bu if you're not really wanting to do it, there's not much point in checking out the site, I guess for someone your age that would be planning to do it, though, the question whether dad - or also often - mom has a tattoo might also be quite relevant. Blessings.

They do, but it wouldn't really help my case since they are both secular. I am the only Christian in my close family, so my dad could care less if I got a tattoo. I personally do not believe they are sinful though, because I would be doing it out of love for my Lord.

 

[faroukfarouk]

They do, but it wouldn't really help my case since they are both secular. I am the only Christian in my close family, so my dad could care less if I got a tattoo. I personally do not believe they are sinful though, because I would be doing it out of love for my Lord.

I like your header verse about having no confidence in the flesh from Philippians; and I guess that many Christians would say that motive counts for a lot when it comes to the design of a faith based tattoo. My wife and I talked to a young lady with the whole of John 3.16 inked on her wrist area; it was her favorite verse, and mine; and I'm sure other conversations have arisen from her deliberate decision to become tattooed with such a design.

So your mom is tattooed also. Years ago moms might have typically been anxious or hostile to their teen considering a tattoo, but now since so many moms are themselves tattooed - it's become a very womanly thing to do as well as the older tradition for male sailors, bikers, etc. - lots of moms as well as dads seem to take their son or daughter's tattoo rite of passage time at 18 in their stride. (Where you are it can be a bit younger, of course. Up here all the Canadian provinces have it at 18.)

Blessings.

 

[faroukfarouk]

... I would be doing it out of love for my Lord.

PS: I guess if you were strongly motivated you might have considered doing it without a numbing agent such as DrNumb, but motives are very much an individual thing, aren't they? Blessings.

 

[faroukfarouk]

... he kind of forgot about looking for a tattoo shop...

BTW, as you may know, a lot of people before they decide to go get a tattoo will often have gotten something else first of all, such as an earring or two put in; tattoo parlors often do this as well, and not just tattoo parlors do it. You must know whether you would want to try this first, and then later revisit the tattoo thing. It's what a lot of ppl seem to do, anyway, right?

Presumably this is not something mom or dad would object to, either, if they don't object to a tattoo.

Blessings.

 

[ClothedInGrace]

BTW, as you may know, a lot of people before they decide to go get a tattoo will often have gotten something else first of all, such as an earring or two put in; tattoo parlors often do this as well, and not just tattoo parlors do it. You must know whether you would want to try this first, and then later revisit the tattoo thing. It's what a lot of ppl seem to do, anyway, right?

Presumably this is not something mom or dad would object to, either, if they don't object to a tattoo.

Blessings.

Not necessarily. Requiring to get my ears pierced to get a tattoo would be kinda silly!

 

[faroukfarouk]

Not necessarily. Requiring to get my ears pierced to get a tattoo would be kinda silly!

As a requirement, yes would be silly.

But it is the route that a lot of young people seem to go, right?

 

[ClothedInGrace]

As a requirement, yes would be silly.

But it is the route that a lot of young people seem to go, right?

Maybe some, not all. Many people just get a tattoo, no piercings prior. That's what I would be doing anyways.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Maybe some, not all. Many people just get a tattoo, no piercings prior. That's what I would be doing anyways.

I see, anyway. Seems like in your case you have a lot stronger desire to get tattooed with witness ink, than to have your ears done, right?

Blessings.

 

[ClothedInGrace]

I see, anyway. Seems like in your case you have a lot stronger desire to get tattooed with witness ink, than to have your ears done, right?

Blessings.

Haha yes, no desire for anything else but my Lord's name.