Before I start just going to put out there, for those of you who are going to be like masturbation isn’t a sin, please don’t reply to this post. That’s all fine and good if it’s not a sin for you, but since it’s not, you’re, at the very least, part of a different religion than me, therefore you’re advice/ explanation won’t help me. I stead it will most likely confuse me more.

Now that I’ve said that, I’ve always been confused on exactly why it’s a sin or rather the reasons it’s a sin. I know it’s a sin. I know it’s wrong for it lies in the sins of sex. I’m not saying that sex itself is a sin, because it’s not. I’m saying masturbation is one of the things considered wrong along with lust, premarital sex, sexual petting, oral and anal... that stuff. So I’ve asked this question in religion class before throughout my 3 1/2 years of high school (I’m a junior) and every time I pretty much get the same answer. “Because you’re not giving glory to God and using it as a way of lust which is another sin.” This is where I’m confused. So like is anything we do that doesn’t give Glory to God wrong? I’m assuming the obvious answer is no, because that’s what my religion teachers tell me. So if doing things that don’t always give glory to God isn’t a sin how come Masturbation is a sin? Or rather, I should be asking more of why lust is considered sin. Is lust looking at someone as an object rather than a person? Or is it just thinking about sexual things that are considered sins? Because I’m not gonna lie I have Masturbated before, and yes I’ve gone to confession about it. I can say though that when I masturbated I never looked at myself as an object or thought of anyone else as an object rather than a person. Obviously I had sexual thoughts but we’re human and we’re not perfect so is sexual thoughts really lust? I honestly have no intention of having premarital sex, even if I do think about what it would be like/ feel from time to time, because I want to wait for that special person. According to Science, masturbation is good for the body and relieves pain and is healthy for your body. Is masturbation a sin because it’s just one person? I’ve always been so confused on all of things, not just masturbation, including oral and anal sex, sexual petting, stuff like that. Please help me out! Thank you!