Answer: I think, at the very least, it is in very poor judgment and at the most, it’s just the wrong thing to do. The age old, but valid, argument is that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 6:19) and we should do all we can to preserve His temples. The stewardship argument is valid. God has given us these temples to use for His glory and, when we abuse them, and thus shorten the time span of their productivity in service and evangelism, it can’t be a good thing. I think, also, of the focus of our lives when I think about this question. While I know that all of us spend some amount of money on products and/or services that enhance our looks and make us feel better about “the presentation,” it seems to me that spending money on a process that has been proven to vastly increase our chances of developing melanoma is foolish.
According to Dr. Lisa Whiteaker in a recent issue of Christian Woman magazine, the use of tanning beds before the age of 30 has been found to increase the odds of developing melanoma by seventy-five percent. Every time the body tans, according to Whiteaker, the skin has had to mobilize its defenses against ultraviolet radiation in an attempt to protect the skin’s DNA. Abnormalities caused by UV light can lead to skin cancer. Thus, this extra exposure seems to me to be sort of an invitation to a carcinogen. In fact, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has recently placed tanning bed use on its highest cancer risk list. This is a category called “Carcinogenic to Humans.”
Sometimes women mistakenly believe that the benefits of tanned skin outweigh the dangers. While vitamin D is beneficial to the body in many ways, it can easily be obtained in foods and vitamin supplements without the considerable risks of cancer that come with tanning.
The good news: It seems as if the porcelain skin tones are becoming more popular (i.e. Anne Hathaway) and there are better products available for temporary darkening of the outer skin layers (i.e. self tanners and bronzers). Still, we should keep in mind that we are not called to be popular or beautiful… just holy.
Source Used:
Ban the Tan, By Lisa Whiteaker, Christian Woman Magazine, May/June, 2010 issue, Gospel Advocate, Nashville, TN.
