HEALTH: Habits and our spiritual health.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome would have you believe masturbation is not a sin. And many men would tend to agree with him. Heck, playing with the family jewels is soothing and increases endorphins (hormones that make us happy). Shouldn’t that be a good thing?

I personally think that masturbation, while it may be pleasurable, is a sin. But what about drinking and smoking? Are they sins? Am I a hypocrite because I think masturbation is a sin, but I think it’s ok to drink some alcohol and smoke a bit as long as both are done in moderation? After all didn’t Jesus in one of his letters say that it’s not what goes into a man that defiles him but what comes out?  Who decides what limit moderation falls in? What might be extreme for one person, might be “moderate” for another person.

It’s a tough call, but a friend of mine would say “let he who has no sin cast the first stone”. Hmmmmm. Do we just try to convince ourselves that certain habits are not that bad to the detriment of our spiritual health? This is not a judgemental article. I have my own sins.  But it is certainly food for thought – we exercise, eat right, manage stress, but our we paying attention to our spiritual health?