Good Decisions Are Impossible
May 14, 2009
There are tattoos that we let define us. I saw a few years back a group of guys who had their names tattooed on their backs in block letters. I wondered if they ever had to use a mirror to remember their names. I have always thought that it might be funny to have a tattoo of the Fantasy Island Character “Tattoo”. I wondered if I had Brad Pitts’ face tattooed over mine if anyone would mistake me for him. A tattoo of six pack abs may also be time saving. I actually won’t do any of those things. I’m afraid that every tattoo that I add, after years and years of weight gain followed by weight loss would end up looking like Jabba the Hut… Kind of like a comic strip looks when you put it on silly putty and stretch it out. (Do they even have silly putty anymore?)
I was at a school Spring Concert last night. I am weighted down by the things that kids tattoo themselves with. I think that decisions are like tattoos. It’s tough to get one that you’ll be proud of in twenty years. So here is my quick list of life-tats that students need to be afraid of.
Boyfriends and Girlfriends Names: One of my favorite girls is dating somebody new. I don’t know the guy but it doesn’t stop me from wondering if they are going out because she has evaluated the pool of guys around her and has carefully selected the single most important guy for her life goals and faith. Seriously?
Most of us dated in high school because we met someone who was a.) Cute and b.) Available. There is nothing really wrong with that but there is something desperate and mediocre about it.
“If I could do it all over I would have set higher standards.” That is the phrase that I have heard from way too many adults. One woman told me that ever since her decision to marry a guy who did not follow Jesus, “God spanked her every day.” LIfe is too short to have to have a tattoo removed or embarrass us.
Cool Words: Have you ever seen a hippy with a “Groovy” Tat? It’s pretty funny. Can you imagine how many people had the tattoo “8” because they are Dale Jr. fans who were panicking that he would change his cars’ number to something without an eight? Wouldn’t it be a bad thing to have your favorite bands’ name tattooed on your arm. The Back Street Boys? Milli Vanilli? Tiffany 4ever!?
Alot of kids I know are all about the cool political trend or some new life style. I know tons of college students who were vegetarians for three years. Now they meet at the Outback for lunch. Good thing they didn’t have a “meat is murder tat”.
Rebellion: Be really careful of publicly denouncing all authority as being moronic. You will be the authority figure some day. Skulls are actually less cool once you realize that the only way to see one is to have someone die.
I talked with a kid who is a freshman at a well known University. He was bragging about being involved in a riot. Some things are worth standing against but sometimes we rebel because we are angry, irrational and a part of a mob. Psychologists have studied the “Mob-mentality” and have discovered that most of us are willing to do the wrong thing if enough people are doing it beside us. Think Nazi Germany.
Anything that is not Christ. I have found that this one mark on my life changes every other potential mark. I am a bond servant of Jesus Christ. I have taken His mark. I think that should help me determine the other marks I’ll accept.
Any thoughts?
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The day after my 18th birthday I got a celtic cross tattooed on my back. I had waited four years to do it. I figure even if one day I decide I don’t want or don’t like it it’s like God. You can’t always see Him, and you may not always like Him, but He’s there, and I have to live with that knowledge and reflect it in my actions and reactions every day. I’m currently 25. I’ve gained and lost a lot of weight, and I’ve never regretted my tattoo.
I did, however opt for the “tramp stamp” location instead of the shoulder blade. Why? So it wouldn’t be seen in a wedding dress :)
Yes they have silly putty still. And did you know that it works to pull off the ink mistakes from a typewriter. Not that anyone needs that useless fact any longer.
Nice thought about tattoos. I wanted one on the bottom of my foot so that It could not be seen, but it tickles too much. Silly putty… another victim in our technological world.