1 Corinthians 7: 1-6 (New Living Translation)
"Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to live a celibate life. But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife. Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. I say this as a concession, not as a command...."
I am so glad that I found this post because I have been praying to the Lord regarding my experiences, asking Him to help me to find places where I can be of some use. Maybe this is a good start. I pray sincerely that none of my words offend. I am, working hard to present the Word and to live according to it alone...to line my character to what the Word of God says. That is the standard, and my human frailties are no excuse for not at least trying to follow God. Please know, I am a hot mess and have all kids of junk floating around in my mind at any given time...but I truly want to be purified by the Word of God. I pray that what I wrote is an encouragement to someone who may need it. If this does not apply to you, please just disregard; don't get mad at me, okay?
I am a military wife, stationed overseas with my husband, who is "overseas plus" at the moment. What I mean by "overseas plus" is that we have the pressure of being out of the US and the additional pressure of him being out of THIS country where we have been deployed!!! I MISS MY HUBBY!!!! I am choosing to be transparent in this post, and for those of you who do not like TMI, this might be too much for you...still I pray that the Word of God and His character is uplifted. Not my own.
My husband and I were highly sexual beings prior to marriage. I can attest that for the three years prior to marriage, I was celibate. In late 2002, I asked God to shut my heart down and to not open it up again until my husband came into my life. Until that point, I fornicated and masturbated. Honestly, I did not even know there was another way...a better, more peaceful way.
As a Christian wife, I do NOT believe that masturbation is Godly. Why? Well, when you masturbate as a married person, you are NOT fulfilling the needs of your spouse. You are only fulfilling your needs. When my husband is away, if I can be frank, we do phone sex. We talk to each other about what we would like to be doing...which is NOT the same as masturbation because our complete focus is the spouse - IN THE SPOUSE'S PRESENCE. There is nothing secret about it. We can hear each other's satisfaction, and the edge of sexual desire goes away for a day or two or three. We bite temptation off at the head.
Think about it; we are children of light. How would you honestly feel if your spouse walked in while you were masturbating and they HAD NO IDEA WHAT YOU WERE DOING! Would you continue? If not, your actions are dead wrong. If so, then why not start out in the first instance with your spouse so he or she can get pleasure as well? In either instance, masturbation is not right. What my husband and I do is a form of physical intimacy that takes into account the fact that we are physically apart.
There have been many times when I have been awakened at a very odd hour because hubby was struggling and did not want to to fall into sin or vice versa. I do not want to fall into sin either. There is no masturbation or sexual pleasure outside of my spouse. NONE...and it makes for great conversation and laughter later, and it makes us closer, and we know one another in ways that we could have never imagined prior to marriage. There is nothing but benefit. When you masturbate, the desire is sated and you don't really feel like doing anything later. You have defrauded your spouse...and even if you DO feel like it later, you have taken from him or her the opportunity to have shared a sexual experience with you alone.
The marriage bed should not be defiled...by selfishness...by another peron outside of the marriage...by pornographic images...by memories of past lovers...or even by the simple need to be satisfied without the spouse. For the people whose spouses do not know how to please them, I don't believe that masturbation should be used as an excuse. This is a wonderful opportunity to teach your spouse what makes you happy..and if they are difficult to communicate with, it is a wonderful opportunity to learn what makes them tick and to persuade them gently and with love. It might take time, but LOVE has a way of covering (melting down with gentleness and forgiveness) a multitude of sin (and bad attitudes and stubbornness, etc.)
I think the bottom line is that masturbation is self-centered. That, in and of itself, is not in line with God's character. God is giving. Open. Filled with light and love. Delightfully surprising. Other-focused at all times. God is always, at all times, concerned with us and with what is best for us. Is masturbation giving to your spouse? Even if he or she is away, can't we find a way to get a sexual outlet that involves them? Might that be a pleasant surprise to our spouses and endear them to us and us to them in ways unforeseen?
I know that, ultimately, we will all do what we want to do, but I do pray that we are led by the Word and not by the experiences or opinions of other people. Others - not even ourselves! - CANNOT define this walk with the Lord.
Our walk and our faith are defined by Christ alone.
Please be encouraged in Christ,
Christi Johnson