The modern world is characterized by permissiveness, but even before humanity was not distinguished by its innocence. The problem of the 21st century is that it has brought globality and publicity to people. Today you can easily find scenes of violence, propaganda of homosexuality and erotic images on the Internet.
It has become very easy to sin today and the priesthood is concerned about the extent to which lust is spreading among people, which leads to masturbation and adultery. And if the negative consequences of adultery are clear to everyone, then some Christians are sincerely perplexed, why is self-satisfaction bad?
What is the sin of masturbation
The sin of masturbation in Orthodoxy is considered serious and is identified with malakia, and both concepts are easily found in the Bible, where they are indicated as a type of adultery.
The Bible about the sin of masturbation
At the root of this ungodly action lies lust - the desire to satisfy one’s flesh, no matter by what means. Sex is a sacred sacrament that occurs only (!) between legal spouses who have been blessed by the Church . And masturbation is a sign that a person cannot control his body and lives according to its laws and aspirations.
About bodily relationships:
- About intimate relationships in an Orthodox family
- On marital intimacy during Lent
A person, trying to satisfy his lust, pleases himself on his own, using auxiliary erotic materials, which today are found in abundance on the Internet.
Important! The Church considers malakia a perversion, on a par with homosexuality, since sexual intercourse takes place without the participation of the other sex. Masturbation defiles a person's body, soul and spirit.
The negative consequences of this process are manifested in:
- alienation from wife;
- termination of sexual relations in marriage;
- artificial replacement of marriage.
A man who masturbates loses interest in his wife or in a possible marriage, because he gets satisfaction on his own. He begins to look lustfully at other women, spend a lot of time reading erotic magazines and watching videos. This not only negatively affects his relationships with the female sex, it corrupts him more and more, and can lead to him committing the sin of adultery.
Important! Scripture says that adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Malakia in women and children
There are no examples in Scripture of women who would please themselves on their own, but this does not mean that there were none or that they were allowed to do so. As we know, there is no sin that men or women can commit.
Sin is prohibited for a person, regardless of his gender, therefore female masturbation is condemned no less than male masturbation. Everyone is equal before God, and everyone will suffer the punishment for fornication and lust in equal measure. Women who have stumbled must, like men, repent, confess and strive for pure thoughts.
But the issue of child masturbation is different. Teenagers often perform this action without realizing what they are doing. Hormonal changes, puberty, tight clothing or unspoken questions lead to exploration of one's body and masturbation. You should not scold a child for this or publicly punish him. You need to talk to him calmly and privately; he will most likely feel shame even without publicity.
The role of the parent here is to find out the reason for this behavior and solve it, to help the child cope with the harmful desire.
How to help a teenager
What not to do:
- punish;
- publicly shame;
- arrange interrogations and inspections.
Need to:
- buy loose clothes;
- monitor the regularity of hygiene procedures;
- talk and answer all questions;
- walk outdoors together.
Advice! If adults follow the lead of their lust, the child, most often, follows the lead of an incomprehensible desire and ignorance. You just need to calmly explain everything to him and help him overcome it.
The essence of penance
A confessor can impose penance without intending a punitive measure and without depriving a person of any rights as a member of the Church. Priests call it “spiritual medicine,” designed to get rid of sinful habits. They view penance as a lesson, an exercise that accustoms one to spiritual achievement and gives rise to a desire for it.
According to modern church canons, penance involves helping a Christian who has fallen into sin in three things such as:
- An assessment of the degree of sin he has committed, awareness of its seriousness.
- Giving him the strength to rise again, instilling hope in God's mercy.
- Giving him the opportunity to demonstrate determination in the matter of repentance.
However, such views on Orthodox penance have been developed over many centuries. Let us take a closer look at how the rules of repentance developed.
What Scripture Says
The story of masturbation is described in Genesis, when a man named Onan was forced to lie with his dead brother's wife. According to the law of that time, the widow of a deceased brother was handed over to the younger brother so that he could lie with her and give birth to a child who would bear the name of the older brother. Thus, the man's line continued.
But Onan did not want to do this and in the process of sexual intercourse “...poured out his seed on the ground” (Gen. 38:9). This is where the name of this process comes from - masturbation. Further it is written that this was evil in the face of God and He killed Onan. Thus, Scripture makes it clear how the Lord relates to this process.
In addition to the story with the founder of masturbation, we can cite as an example other passages from Scripture that equate masturbation with adultery:
- “Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor wicked people... will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10);
- “Flee fornication; ... Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you, ... glorify God both in your bodies and in your souls, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:18-20).
In the chronicles of the Middle Ages one can find stories about penances for self-satisfaction. It should be emphasized again that the desire for sex is not sinful. Sex is the sacrament of love between husband and wife, which God has ordained, but secret self-satisfaction is only lust and nothing more.
Repentance stages in the past
Among the first Christians, penance was prescribed in the form of temporary excommunication from church life. Such punishment for sinners took place publicly and was divided into several types.
Repentant Christians (“crying”) were ordered to stand at the entrance to the temple and cry to God for the forgiveness of their sins. They were not allowed to cross the threshold of the temple.
Hearing
Other sinners (“listening”) were only allowed to be in the vestibule of the church. Here they stood and listened to prayers and passages from Holy Scripture. Together with the catechumens they were obliged to leave the temple.
Seizure
Repentant sinners (“those who fall”) were allowed to serve together with the faithful. They fell on their faces during the announcement of a special prayer read by the bishop.
Repentance
The last and easiest penance fell on those “standing together.” These are Christians who could attend the liturgy, but were not allowed to take communion. As we see, only the fourth and final type of repentance has survived to this day.
How to get rid
After a person realizes the wrongness of his actions, a desire comes to him to get rid of them.
How to overcome the sin of fornication? Do not give up under any circumstances, even if on the first try you did not succeed in mastering your body and desires. You can seek advice from a priest, or even share this sin with someone - the support of a loved one will help you cope with it.
How to ask God for forgiveness
It is important to understand the essence of the problem and its consequences. There may be several reasons:
- lack of sexual relations with your spouse or dissatisfaction with them;
- the desire to repeat the pleasure received once;
- lack of bright emotions;
- fear of being rejected/rejected due to lack of experience;
- fear of loneliness.
Once you understand the true cause, it will be easier to deal with the problem. The recovery plan looks like this:
- Remove all temptations from yourself.
- Pray daily, especially during times of near temptation.
- Remove all erotic materials or destroy them.
- Avoid watching TV late at night or using the Internet.
- Don't be alone at late times.
- Limit alcohol consumption.
- Do not take a bath for too long and do not look at your naked body.
- Dates should be held in public places.
- Regularly fast for this sin and confess.
- Find a friend or priest to call in times of temptation.
What contributes to deliverance? Preoccupying your thoughts with something else. The following tips may help:
- More movement - playing sports allows you to relieve tension from the body and release excess energy. Moreover, regular fatigue will help you fall asleep faster and prevent you from spending time thoughtlessly. It will be useful to buy a gym membership, walk more in the fresh air, and engage in active activities;
- Creative activities - they bring positive emotions and deprive a person of excess free time. Creating something is a great way to keep your mind occupied and clear of lustful thoughts.
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The Lord gives strength to overcome any sin, He told Cain: “Sin lies at your door, but you must rule over it” (Gen. 4:7) and today He tells each of us “Dominate your sin” and gives strength for this.
Repentance for sins
Methods of disposal
The sacrament of repentance, that is, confession, completely delivers a Christian from the sin committed. The person will no longer be guilty of the confessed offense. But in reality, the degree of repentance can be different. If passions are not completely eliminated in the soul, the repentant sinner commits the same unrighteous acts again and again.
Penance, in particular excommunication from communion, helps a person realize the degree of his moral and spiritual decline, overcome attachment to sin, and feel disgust for it. Self-justification, characteristic of fallen human nature, does not allow the repentant sinner to fully realize the depth of his fall. Therefore, practicing good deeds such as fasting, prayer, almsgiving and abstinence helps one realize the degree of sinfulness of one’s deeds and strengthens repentance.
Prayers
Very often, as penance, the confessor prescribes an extended prayer rule or reading the Gospel. For example, it is prescribed to read the canon of repentance, Our Father or other prayers for a certain period. In addition, prayer can also mean other acts of reverence and piety.
Charity
Alms and help provided to neighbors well cleanse a person’s heart from sins and passions. She instills love in the heart, makes sinners repent of their sins towards themselves and their neighbors. Almsgiving can be not only material, but also spiritual.
Long fast
By abstaining from pleasing his flesh, keeping it in strictness and fasting, the repentant sinner cleanses and refines his soul. This helps him see his sins more clearly, realize them, and bring deep repentance.
Fasting includes not only food restrictions, but also other methods of mortification and self-affirmation.
Worship during worship
Prostration is a means of regaining the lost connection with God. He symbolizes the prodigal son, who returned home and fell on his knees before the Heavenly Father, asking for forgiveness and return to his native abode. With such a bow-fall we plunge ourselves into the abyss of repentance, where the merciful God will certainly extend his hand to us to save us from sins.
Abstaining from marital debt
There are days in the church calendar when communication between spouses in their family bed must be limited for spiritual purposes. If a husband and wife violate this instruction, the priest may assign them penance in the form of a temporary renunciation of marital duty.
As a rule, the passion that dominates a person’s soul is cured by the opposite action or virtue.
Church punishments
Today in the Church Charter there is no provision for penance for the sin of fornication. However, the person who performed this action must cleanse the sin.
There is a specific process for this:
- Repent before the Lord and before your confessor.
- Perform 100 prostrations within 40 days.
- Fast.
- Confess.
- Take communion.
Afterwards, it is important to get rid of everything that may cause temptation: throw away magazines and books, block websites, turn off TV channels. Avoid ambiguous glances or touches. You need to confess weekly to a priest. This will help not only keep yourself under control, but also be aware of what is happening.
General concept
Penance means (translated from ancient Greek) “punishment, punishment.” The term comes from the word “epithymion” - punishment under the law. Previously, in Russian it was pronounced as “penance” - with the emphasis on the penultimate syllable. Now the emphasis is on the latter.
Despite the translation of this word, it meant punishment, a penalty that was imposed on a guilty person only in ancient times. To date, this interpretation is only partially correct. From the point of view of modern Orthodoxy, this is, in a spiritual sense, a medicine that a sinner who is experiencing pangs of conscience is looking for.
Penance is the voluntary performance by a penitent of any pious deeds, for example, prolonged prayer, mercy, pilgrimage, or intense fasting. These actions are performed as measures serving for moral correction.
Gospel parable about penance
Here it would be appropriate to recall an episode from the Gospel associated with the publican Zacchaeus (tax collector). In the eyes of true believers, he was known as a despicable person who had lost his conscience and was rejected by the Lord God. Jesus told Zacchaeus that he would come to his house. The publican was very surprised, realizing that he had been blessed by the Son of God.
Suddenly, in gratitude, he decided to give half of his property to the poor, and also to repay four times to everyone he had offended. He reported this to Jesus. Although the Savior did not advise or command anything to the publican, but simply came to visit him, a reciprocal feeling arose in him. Zacchaeus, having assessed his past, came to the conclusion that he lived in sin and was worthy of condemnation. Repentant, he decided that he needed to restore justice by assigning himself penance.
Patriarch Jeremiah on the reasons for penance
Patriarch Jeremiah of Constantinople, in his response to the Lutherans, names five reasons why remission of sins is accompanied by penance. In accordance with them, restrictions are imposed in order to:
- Through suffering, accepted voluntarily, one can free oneself from the grave punishment that may follow in another life. Just as through the voluntary suffering of Jesus the sins of mankind were forgiven.
- To destroy in a person who has fallen into sin the passionate carnal lusts that give rise to sin. Because the opposite is cured by the opposite.
- Penance serves as a “bridle” for the soul, preventing it from again taking up those vicious deeds from which it is trying to cleanse itself.
- To teach patience and work, since virtue is the result of difficult efforts.
- To know and understand whether a repentant person has completely hated sin.
