Masturbation...yay or nay?

First of all let me say welcome to my new readers from India! I hope you find something worth while in my simple words.

Secondly, no I am not obsessed with sex. I believe that it is the most misused and most misunderstood functions of the body, in Christian and non-Christian alike, and so therefore I think it is somewhat necessary to write on it, in all its forms.

Thirdly, please have some sympathy for me in regards to how careful I had to be googling images for this issue!

Masturbation.

Let's admit it, we have all done it and, as far as I know, no one has gone blind from it yet.

But is it ok? I mean, from a Christian stand point, does God approve of one exploring their own body and satisfying themselves sexually?

Now, my non-Christian readers might find this dilemma kind of funny, but it can be a real issue for Christians! I know people who feel so guilty for giving themselves pleasure, and feel that they are sinning every time they do. Or they don't do it all.

In my humble opinion, it isn't a simple as "yes or no" when it comes to whether masturbation is good or bad.

I think it is more about where your mind is at that where your hands are at.

We all now know my views on porn (read my last blog "50 shades of PORN") and so it goes without saying that looking at videos and pleasuring yourself at the same time is demeaning to you and to the people you are watching. If you want to know why read the last blog.

However, I think the same goes if you are consistently fantasizing about one person (or who knows, a group of people?) while you are doing the deed. 

(just a random aside - how does one talk about this without using terms that either sound cheesy, dirty or downright funny????...

...and we're back).

If you are fantasizing about one person then are you really valuing them for who they are as a person, as a human being that is loved and cherished, or are you substituting that person for porn videos? I have heard, and this is 100% real, a guy say that if he fantasizes about his girlfriend while...you know....that then it will help keep him away from porn. WRONG. It is just making his girlfriend a porn star.

On the other hand, if you are separated from your partner for a while and are unable to have sex with them, maybe it is better to be thinking of them than anyone else.

I also know a person that says that when they masturbate they don't picture faces, they only picture the bodies of the people they are thinking about, but they don't know if that is because they are honouring the people or because their brain is too lazy to think up faces. Either way, this is still objectifying people to the point where it is only their bodies that we are interested in, not the people themselves.

So what is the answer? Should all those good boys and girls who try so hard to abstain until marriage go around sexually frustrated for all the years that it takes to find a partner?

Is it so bad to help yourself out a little?

My personal opinion is no, it's not. I think it is healthy for people to explore their bodies and what they can do. It can take away fear of sex and can make people (girls particularly) aware of parts of their body that may not otherwise get much attention, and in some cases can be reviled!

I think it can help with tension release, particularly for those that are trying not to go too far with their gf/bf and want to keep it clean but can't handle the tension that it creates!

But it can also lead very quickly into lust and desire that is unhealthy and demeaning to you and to your love interest.

So be careful. 

God has created your body as a wonderful and glorious creation that is meant to work as it does.

Let's just not misuse and abuse and make something beautiful an instrument of the degraded.