“I didn’t know you were a Christian just by looking at you & seeing all your tattoos”. This statement came from a fellow classmate of mine last year & it still bothers me to this day.
Why does it bother me? It makes me realize how quickly we are judged just by a glance. It hurts me to know that I may be looked at in a negative light as a result of the smallest thing. I always ask myself, “what if other people judge me by the exact same thing that she did”.
What if my obedient actions and my walk in Christ doesn’t help anyone watching just because I have tattoos. What if that fellow classmate of mine had never talked to me & just went off of what she saw in my outer appearance? I didn’t mention earlier but she was not a believer, so would she have dismissed all my positive actions & just never heard about the true love of Christ?
I believe God has given me the gift of speaking, but it’s hard to speak Godly words to people when I feel like people see me as something so much different than I am. To be completely honest, I begin covering my tattoos up more shortly after that statement, to the point were I’m comfortable in long sleeves even on the hottest days.
Growing up, tattoos were just as common in my environment as having candy after school. I was 13 when I received my first tattoo & I was addicted after that. Being tattooed or “tatted up” as we would say was the cool thing to do & I prided myself on getting a new one. My first year in college, as a football player, I remember traveling back home to get just about my entire left arm covered. I walked with so much pride, it was a sense of accomplishment rushing over me.
Sometimes, more often than not, I do begin to regret my tattoos but then I realize that they are apart of me so I embrace them. I just don’t want to be a stumbling block for anyone who needs the love of Jesus Christ
I have received the label “thug” so many times that I can’t count. I’m tired of letting people scare me away from embracing myself & embracing everything that has shaped me into the man I am today.
God lives & flows through me, if you come close enough you may just feel him yourself. So to anyone with tattoos and/or piercings, THEY DO NOT DEFINE YOU. God can & will use you just as anyone else he has called according to his will.
