Leviticus 19:28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.
This passage of scripture teaches us that we are not to deface our bodies by any of the popular forms of body art which are borrowed directly from ancient paganism, including, but not restricted to the practice of tattooing, bodily engravings, body piercings, and cutting one's flesh to honor the dead. Our bodies belong to God, both by creation and redemption, and furthermore, they are the dwelling place of The Holy Spirit, and as such must be kept in the most natural and purest form possible. Let's read:
1st Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your bodies and your spirits, which are God's.
However, many people did not know that such prohibitions existed in the Bible, and therefore went ahead and had their bodies pierced, engraved, or painted in various ways, not knowing that they were dishonoring God by so doing. The Bible tells us that in the times of ignorance, God winks, meaning that if any person did these things inadvertently, He will be more than ready to forgive, but when sufficient light has been shed on our pathway, showing us His will in these matters, then we should desist and ask Him to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The process of redemption involves restoring the human agent back to the original design God intended, both spiritually and physically, and therefore any practice that is not in harmony with His original plan should be dispensed with. True Christianity is a lifestyle that includes a disposition to surrender our own ideas of right and wrong, in favor of what the Scriptures describe as being right and wrong, and therefore we should be willing to let Christ have full jurisdiction over our entire lives, not just our health and finances.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to refrain from those things that are contrary to God's plan for us, and instead focus our energies in seeking that immortal life which God will give to them that obey Him. Let's read:
Philippians 3:13 "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
May The God of heaven grant us grace to make the necessary changes where applicable. God bless!