“These six things the Lord hates,
indeed, seven are an abomination to Him; A proud look [the spirit that makes
one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands
that she innocent blood, a heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans,
feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies
[even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren.”—Proverbs
6:16-19 (Amplified)
In America, our society is
constantly being bombarded by the media and special interest groups to be
tolerant and accepting of people’s lifestyle choices that are in direct
opposition to God’s ethical standards of conduct. For example, special interest groups have led
the charge to accept as a normal lifestyle, homosexuality, lesbians, same-sex
marriage, and all manner of sexual perversion.
The Scripture explicitly forbids this lifestyle and instructs us not to
approve it (Romans 1: 18-32).
Let’s be clear, as Christians we are
to love people, but we are not to condone lifestyle choices that are immoral
and unethical. We are to love and minister
to people who are engaged in these activities, but we are not to be a partaker
of another person’s sin. As ministers of
the gospel, there is no scriptural justification to tattoo and have body
piercings to present the gospel to any particular group of individuals.
A spirit filled believer came to me one
time and told me that she was going to start ministering to teenagers; furthermore,
she believed that God had told her to get her nose pierced, so she could
identify with the teenagers she would be witnessing too. I shared with her the following scriptures
which teach us concerning body piercings and tattoos. “You
shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on
you: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:28). Although
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 does not directly apply to tattoos or body piercings, it
does give us a principle: “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.” After
I had shared these scriptures and reminded her that God does not contradict His
Word, the young woman said, “I do not care what the Bible says; I am going to
do it anyway!” Even after I told her that I Samuel 15:23
said, “For rebellion is as the sin of
witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry…” she stilled
rebelled and got her nose pierced. From
that time on, this young woman has experienced a lot of difficulties in her
life.
The Apostle John had a revelation
that he wrote about in Revelation 2:18-23.
The church in Thyatira was doing well for the Lord. The church was commended for their works,
love, service, faith and patience; however, there was a problem because they tolerated a woman by the name of Jezebel. Jezebel called herself a prophetess, and
taught and seduced the people to commit sexual immorality and eat things that
had been sacrificed to idols. She was
given time to repent of her sexual immorality, but she did not; therefore she
experienced many difficulties.
Examine your heart and make sure
that you are not tolerating those
things in your life that God does not tolerate. He wants you to yield to the Holy Spirit so
that your whole life is pleasing to Him.
Prayer—Father
I willing yield my life to You today, and
if I am tolerating sin in my life in anyway, I ask You to show it to me. I repent of anything that is not pleasing to
You, and I ask You to strengthen me today so that I my life reflects You, in
Jesus Name. Amen.
