Theo Von talks to Kat Von Dee - "I look demonic, but I'm Christian"

Reflection

Kat Von D has spent much of her life having her appearance read as something dark. The tattoos, the black clothing, the gothic aesthetic — all of it has led people to assume things about her, and since her baptism she has been told she looks more like the caricature of a sinner than a saint. In this short clip from her conversation with Theo Von, the honest admission is that the outside can look a long way from what people expect of a Christian, and that this mismatch is not a barrier to faith — it is exactly the kind of person Jesus kept drawing near. The Bible never flatters outward appearances. Darkness and light language runs right through scripture, but it is always about the state of the heart, not a dress sense. Jesus was called a friend of sinners because of the company he kept (Matthew 11:19), and the religious leaders were the ones he rebuked for looking spotless on the outside while their hearts were far from God (Matthew 23:27 to 28). If anything, the people aware of their own darkness were often closer to him than the people confident of their own light. So if you have ever been labelled, judged or written off because of how you look — or because of what your past looks like to other people — this clip is a small but pointed reminder. Being a Christian is not about appearing acceptable to onlookers. It is about knowing who you belong to.

Questions to sit with

• Why do you think people so quickly assume someone's appearance tells them about their faith?
• Do you find it freeing or unsettling that God looks at the heart rather than the outside?
• Whose opinion matters more when you follow Christ — the onlooker's, or his?

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