Masturbation: Less than the best

"What if I asked you to give up masturbation,” He asked? 

I replied through prayer, “I think that would be very difficult.”

In short, I think that I place too much of a value on sexual satisfaction, which probably means I need to struggle to give it up. Maybe it’s not forever, but at least for an undefined period of time. While pleasure can be good, I cannot allow it to become something I can’t give up for the sake of knowing Christ. (Phillippians 3:8)* I need to give this up because I want something better. In the process of letting go of my ‘rights’ to it, I will discover the value of what I acquire instead.

Tonight, I asked permission. He said, no, but I did anyway. That is unacceptable. I cannot let a physical desire override my spiritual desire. If I do, I will discover as always that the two cannot be separated without losing their value.

Even though there is pleasure in masturbation and pleasure in participating in sex, this kind of pleasure is driven from a source that loses its value outside of marriage. I have defined pornography as wrong, but cannot do the same for masturbation. It is not such a black and white line. However, it is less than the best I could desire and therefore a distraction that I need to keep from blocking my vision of what is beautiful.

*Phillippians 3:8

More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.

Counterfeit Pleasure

Does the counterfeit give as much pleasure as the reality? If I didn’t imagine that the non-counterfeit experience was better, the counterfeit experience should be equally as valuable as what may be more real. The only problem with this approach is that the pleasure is still extremely short-lived. It’s like eating a meal, but being hungry right after you’re finished. 

Sometimes what I believe is not an accurate reflection of reality. Perhaps my mind has been deceived into thinking that I can derive some pleasure from pornography. However my experience proves the limited nature of this activity.