that grows in Israel and is literally covered in one and two inch thorns.  And these Roman soldiers did not place this crown of thorns on His head in a gingerly fashion.  They forced it down on His head as hard as they could.  They made sure that the Lord's head was very, very pierced.  This is what body piercing meant to our Lord Jesus Christ.  Wait we are not done with body piercing yet.  There is more, so much more. Mark 15: 19, "And they kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting at Him,...". This is body piercing to Jesus Christ. They had this crown of thorns on His head and now they are beating the crown of thorns and piercing our Lord ever deeper and deeper and deeper. This is body piercing to our Lord and Savior, our image. John 19: 33-34, "But coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs; but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water."  This is body piercing to the Lord Jesus Christ. Scourged, beat on the head after forcing a crown of thorns on His head, crucified, nails in His hands and feet, and pierced with a spear in His side, this is body piercing to Jesus Christ.  If for no other reason, out of respect for the pain and agony that our Lord suffered after His arrest, no Christian should pierce any part of their body.  If you love Jesus then how can you make a mockery of the horror that He went through so that you and I can be saved?
       I will make the discussion on tattoos fairly brief because I know the way we dress will probably be rather lengthy.  Let's look at 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." The bottom line is that God said DO NOT.  However, there are some very interesting reasons why you do not mark your body.  Ezekiel 9: 4-6, "And the Lord said to him, 'go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.' But to the others He said in my hearing, 'Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eyes have pity, and do not spare.  Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary.'  So they started with the elders who were before the temple."  God uses a mark to identify us as his own.  In Revelation Satan uses a mark to identify his own also. Revelation 13:16, "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive the mark in the right hand, or in their foreheads:"  And here is what God does with those that receive the wrong mark?  Revelations 14: 9-11, "And the third angel followed them, saying with a load voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup if his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.'  There seems to be a divine right to placing marks on the body.  God uses a mark to identify and glorify the body and Satan uses a mark to defile and vilify the body.  Since, as human beings, we have no divine rights of our own, then it follows that we have no right to place any mark on our bodies or anyone else's body.  And as we have seen in Ezekiel 9:4-6 God directs His holy angels to do the marking.  So unless you are being tattooed by an angel of God then I would suggest that you not be marked at all.  One last thought about our bodies and marking it up, before we end this part. I 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?"  You would not put graffiti on the church building you go too, so why would you put graffiti on the temple where the Holy Spirit lives?
       Does how we dress make a difference?  Yes it does both to image and substance.  If I say certain words to you images and patterns of dress will come to your mind, because of the image and substance you have experienced in the world.  Here are a few words to start with: prostitute, pimp, hoodlum, cop, biker, geek, preacher, fireman, nurse and rock band.  Every one of those words conjured up an image in your mind because you have experienced the substance of each.