FW 7.4 The Perfection of Womanhood, and "What About Tattoos?"
Hello, Beautiful Homemakers!
We are delving into the middle of Chapter XV "Arousing Worship, Adoration, and Love." We will cover The Test of Every Man's Love; The Qualities that Arouse Worship; Where Nature Steps In; and How You Become the Mystery.
I mention quite a few things in this video, and I mention these 2 videos:
Jacob Whelan "Why I gave up on getting married and starting a Family"
and the Mr. Reagan channel telling about "Passport Bros" - men finding wives in other countries because they cannot stand what American women have become. The name of the video is Man Keeping, and I didn't even go into what that means. Remember how for decades women have told men to be softer and more emotionally available? We talked about that recently. Turns out, women actually hate soft, emotionally fragile men. Who knew? 😂 (Oh, right, we did.) Well man keeping has to do with women now complaining about the very thing they said they wanted in a man, and they are tired of having to be his counselor and here his deepest emotions. They call it man keeping. Silly, I know. He makes a lot of great points, and if you have time, you might enjoy watching it.
In the subsection The Test of Every Man's Love, the sentence in capitals says, "Of course there are exceptional men who marry for other reasons, who are governed by feelings different from the protective adoration described, but no woman worthy of her sex desires marriage on such grounds, or with such men!"
Then the pamphlets had me quoting Shakespeare, and since it made little sense, I kindly gave you an interpretation into everyday English by LitCharts.com.
From The Tempest, Act 3, Scene 1:
FERDINAND:
"Admired Miranda! Indeed the top of admiration, worth What’s dearest to th' world! Full many a lady I have eyed with best regard and many a time 50 Th' harmony of their tongues hath into bondage Brought my too diligent ear. For several virtues Have I liked several women. Never any With so full soul but some defect in her Did quarrel with the noblest grace she owed 55 And put it to the foil. But you, O you, So perfect and so peerless, are created Of every creature’s best."
FERDINAND:
"Admired Miranda! You do indeed deserve the utmost admiration, as much as the most treasured thing in the world! I’ve looked at many women with great enjoyment. And I've been entranced by the sweet sounds of their voices in my ear, which too eagerly heard their words. There have been several women whom I liked for the multiple good qualities they had. But every one of them had some bad trait that contrasted with and outweighed even their best qualities. But you, oh you, are perfect, beyond compare, and are made out of the best qualities possible in a woman."
Under the subsection Where Nature Steps In, the sentence in capitals says, "The disadvantage of most girls is that they do not know how to maintain the interest long enough to give the man's holy desire time to grow." (If you do not know how to do this, I suggest you listen to the playlists - one playlist a day for 6 days!)
"How YOU Become the Mystery": While waiting for Nature to do her task, you must be careful not to do anything that will make it difficult for her. If Nature is endeavoring to make this man put you on a pedestal and worship you, the best way to aid her is to put yourself on a pedestal. If you stay there and appear to belong there, Nature's task is a great deal easier. (I give examples of how to stay on and fall off your pedestal.)
In being the gracious woman above described, you have already placed yourself upon the pedestal, you have already demonstrated your worthiness of man's worship. The trouble is that when a man hasn't put you on the pedestal himself he likes to wobble the pedestal to see how you can stick on. If you waver, if you lose one iota of your refinement and purity of character, he will be greatly disappointed and Nature will be frustrated. But if yo stand steadfast, and refuse to let yourself give up anything that belongs to the ideal woman, he will be fascinated. YOU WILL BE TO HIM A MYSTERIOUS AND UNUSUAL WOMAN. He will usually end by believing that there is no other place in the world for you except on that pedestal and by devoting his whole soul, if permitted, to keeping you there for the rest of your life.
What About Tattoos?
Lastly, I answer the question, "What about tattoos?" I give you all of my thoughts and research. If this questions doesn't pertain directly to you, I think you will still find it interesting in answering other people's questions about this topic.
Bible verses I mention about the pagan practice of tattooing and shaving the side of one's head and beard are:
Leviticus 19: 26 You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. 27 You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 21: 5 They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
Deuteronomy 14:1 You are the children of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead.
Jeremiah 16:6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; neither shall men lament for them, cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.
and Jeremiah 41:5 certain men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord.
Ezekiel 44:20 They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed.
From the book God's Woman by CR Nichol, page 56 and 57: "In Arabia for a time there was the custom among the natives of cropping the hair and offering a portion of it in sacrifice to idols. To the Hebrews Jehovah said, 26 Ye shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. 27 You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord." The "corners" of the head and beard were the hair around the ears and temples.
So no "hare krishna" haircuts. And no "monk" haircuts where a bald spot is made on purpose on the back of the head. The Bible forbids this, especially for priests; all Christians today are considered "priests" (the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:5).
Other Bible verses that I quote are:
John 15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (That’s directly from God’s Word in Romans 12:2.)
Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. (That’s 1 John 5:3)
Ladies, we are all on different steps of obedience in our transformation to be more Christ-like. If you have a tattoo, I am not condemning you, nor am I trying to shame you. After much thought and research, I am simply speaking up and telling women about what the Bible says on this subject.
Being "free in Christ" does not mean that you get to do whatever pops into your pretty little head. Tattooing is a pagan practice that is abhorrent to God. Once you become a Christian you are to step away from pagan, worldly practices. Your new role-model is to be Christ Himself! Would Jesus get a tattoo?
1 John 5: 19 We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.
When you pass by or enter a “tattoo parlor,” what do you see? Whenever I pass by one, I see that the walls inside and outside are painted black, and there are drawings of dragons, demons, skulls, the grim reaper, and other forms of death and darkness. Is Jesus being glorified in this place? Or is Satan?
Remember
People, especially women younger than you, are
watching what you say, how you act, where you go, what you wear, what
you do with your time, how you spend your money, if you get a tattoo, if you cuss, and even what you are drinking.
May God bless you as you lead people to Him by your example of feminine womanhood, fascinating womanhood, and biblical womanhood.
Janine
Some notes from my video:
I often hear: “But my tattoos open up conversations about the Lord! My tattoo has John 3:16 on it. My tattoo is of Jesus on the cross. My tattoo shows I was in prison and now I have a changed life. I got my tattoo to glorify the Lord.”
How does disobeying a direct order from God glorify Him? Answer: It does not. It cannot.
God can USE your changed life to open doors after you have repented of your sins and have a personal relationship with Jesus, but He NEVER approves of your SIN. When He says, “DO NOT” He actually means it. He hasn’t changed His mind. And He says that if you love Him, then you will obey His commands.
Don’t just take my word for it. Is God your Father? Is the Holy Bible God’s love letter to you? Is the Holy Bible God’s instruction book for you? Read it for yourself. Pray about it yourself.
“But I don’t believe you, and I still want one,” some may say. “My preacher has them and says it is okay and that that statute was done away with when Jesus died.”
I hear that a lot, too, but when you study Leviticus 19 as a whole, for yourself, with a humble, teachable heart, I think you will also reach the conclusion that this direct command hasn’t “passed away with the law.”
Whereas we no longer do animal sacrifices today because Jesus’ death superseded the need for animal sacrifices, because JESUS was the final sacrifice, Jesus was the final sin offering.
Others say, “It is a ceremonial law, and all ceremonial laws have passed from us with the New Testament.”
While it is true that ceremonial laws are no longer in effect, tattoos and people cutting themselves were NOT a ceremonial law. They were a pagan practice usually done to mourn a death.
The statute of “No cutting your flesh, and no tattoos,” and even the statute above it in Lev. 19:27 of not shaving the sides of your head and beards, like the Hare Krishna’s and some other pagan religions do, is still a pagan ritual and is still offensive to God to this day.
You can read about this in Lev. 21:5, Deut 14:1, Jer. 16:6 and Jer. 41:5 for a fuller explanation of this practice. God hasn’t declared any of this “okay” in the New Testament, as He did with unclean foods.
The next few statutes after verse 28 deal with prostitution,
witchcraft, divination, showing respect for the elderly, not taking
advantage of people, and having just (fair) weights and measures in the
marketplace. All of these statutes are still in effect today.
God using your example of a changed life does not negate the fact that you have sinned. But when you accepted Christ you were forgiven of your sins, and today you are to “abide with Him.” In John 15:4-8 Jesus says, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father….”
A tattoo ‘opening doors of conversation about the Lord’ does not negate the fact that a tattoo is a direct violation of His Word and so, to my understanding, IS indeed a sin.
You may say: “I didn’t realize it was a sin. I didn’t know that verse was even in the Bible.” Tattoos are a sin that you need to repent of, even if you didn’t know you were sinning when you got them. And you shouldn’t get any more. Your past sins never glorify God.
When, as a Christian, you desire to get a tattoo, sin is crouching at your door. You want to fulfill the desires of your flesh and please your vanity. But God has said, “DO NOT.”
This would, therefore, include make-up and eyebrow tattoos. God’s Word doesn’t say, “…but 6,000 years from now, when medical science has made tattoos safe, you can beautify your face with eyebrow tattoos, because putting eyebrow liner on every day is tedious.” Some people today have terrifying reactions to the ink put into their body, but even if you don’t, God still says, “Do Not.” It seems as if God sees tattoos as body graffiti, and a desecration of His temple, and not a decoration or improvement on His masterpiece.
The Bible clearly tells us in Romans that just because we are now saved doesn’t mean we get to go on sinning as though our sins do not matter. They grieve God. We are to daily abide with Christ and take our sinful desires to Him. When we do sin, we must ask for His forgiveness. When a sinful fleeting thought drifts into our mind we are not to dwell on it. But if we do dwell on it, or revel in the thought of it, or do it, then we must repent of it in order to keep walking by Jesus’ side.
Don’t fool yourself that tattoos glorify God. They do not. Your tattoos are not “cool” or hip or conversation starters. They are sins that “show” and they are grievous to God.
If you already have tattoos, then repent of your sin and ask God to use your changed life to reflect Him to a sin-loving world. And don’t sin again by getting more.
I go over all the reasons why you shouldn't get a tattoo (but got tired of transcribing!).
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