Joyce Meyer shared that at the age of 79, she received her first tattoos. “It’s really a neat story. I don’t know if I can get the whole thing outright. But [the tattoo artist] had gone through the most hellish thing.” After noting that the artist suffered from bipolar disorder, Meyer added, “And then a bunch of religious Christians got him convinced that because he was a tattoo artist, he was going to Hell. When he heard me say that I wanted to get a tattoo that said, ‘I belong to the Lord,’ or ‘I belong to Jesus.’ He said he decided to go back into business,” Meyer shared. The tattoo artist that did tattoos for Meyer and her husband, Dave, was inspired by a 2018 talk Meyer gave when she stated that Christians who condemn tattoos are taking the Bible out of context. “I have a nice little cross [on my back]. And it says, ‘I belong to Jesus.’ And just for good measure, I put love on my foot to remind me to walk in love,” Meyer said. She said the tattoo artist told her that she and Dave “were the oldest people he had ever tattooed.”
Meyer noted there would be critics of her decision. “The whole thing is it’s between me and God. And it’s a matter of my heart. And when I stand before God on Judgment Day, before He makes any decision about me, He’s not going to call any one of you and say, ‘Is there anything you’d like to add about Joyce?’” She added that others could disagree, “But I have a right to mine too. … I wanted the devil to know I belong to Jesus. He bought me and paid for me with His blood. I am not my own. I am seriously committed and dedicated to God. And I am not going to let some snooty religious attitude keep somebody else out of Heaven.” She cited Isaiah 49:16 to support her view, which says, “Behold, I have indelibly imprinted or tattooed a picture of you on the palm of each of my hands.”
