pastoral advice

As a youth Pastor, i receive many questions that pertain to young peoples lives. one that is more common that I get from students and parents is the question of tattoo's and piercings. Are they sinful, am i destroying my temple, wwjd, etc etc.

one scripture that is often quoted is leviticus 19:28 "you shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am the Lord"
I am not the Lord, but i will say that if you want to go around toting this verse as your ammo against it, you also might want to read the verses prior which say you can't trim your beard or sideburns. You also have to get rid of any polyester shirts because there was to be no blending of fabrics in O.T times.
I personally have never gotten a tattoo, and most likely will not, ( i thought about a pixie fairy on my lower back but Kendra wouldn't let me) however I do not consider them necessarily sinful. I tell people to examine the reason why they want one. God is much more concerned with our hearts than ink on skin, and if your motives are pure and the tattoo isn't of the grim reaper making a sacrifice to a demon god, I don't have a real problem with it. I do always recommend proceeding with caution in this arena, because once it is on, its on.
I've also heard that they are a lot like plastic surgery and it can be hard to stop. Here's a picture of a kid who came to me and just wondered about getting his ear pierced. I warned him not to let it get carried away:) You make the call..........