Masturbation, at its very root, is very individualistic. It is self-serving. There is no getting around it. While the conversation can include an expansion into the married life, the conversation of this post will focus on the act of masturbation by a pastor, and the implications that come with said action. 

Masturbation runs contrary to what pastors teach. In all things, pastors teach their congregations to be holy as God is holy, to be above reproach in all things, to respect and embrace the sexual constructions God has blessed us with; to live life as if God was within you… because He is through the Spirit. Yet for the pastor who says these things and then goes off and pleasures himself, they bring judgment upon themselves. At their root, they are are hypocrites. 

The masturbating pastor runs contrary to their main role as shepherd. Their is no leading or guiding principle for the self-serving pastor. In all things, they must lead others as Christ has led. Therefore, if we are to take the isolationist position of masturbation and apply it to the role of the pastor, we would see the faulty logic. You cannot reconcile masturbation with pastoring. The two are exclusive terms, completely contradictory to one another. 

As a pastor, what must I do? If you are a pastor who has a platform for communicating God’s Word and with that you destroy your integrity with how you live your life, stop! It is time for you to stop living a hypocritical and selfish life. Allow God to take your humility and transform you into who He wants you to be. Understand that God’s best for you is a life of sexual purity and integrity. The conversation from here expands far beyond the reaches of masturbation though, as you can probably guess. It goes down to who someone really is: either they are who they say they are in public, or they are who they hide in private.

Which one are you?