Question:
I hope all is well. I wanted to say that I appreciate you for this Christian-based site. I didn’t know about it when I was a young teen. I am a 23-year-old single man now, who is waiting until marriage. I have an embarrassing kind of question and I’m not sure if you answer many questions from people in their 20s, but I wanted to know is it normal for me to be unusually aroused this past week, even though I did ejaculate twice in the week (which I am embarrassed to admit and asked for forgiveness about. Is it still normal to have random erections at my age?
I would have thought that I grew out of it by now. Again, this is embarrassing, haha, but it has been concerning me and I’m looking for a Christ-based answer and not one that’ll just tell me to go find a partner and have sex.
I just graduated college and am looking and praying for the right wife. I don’t want to sin. I also have a business that I’ve been starting. God has been good to me and I just don’t want to mess anything up or be in bad standing with Him. Haha, I think my main thing is I don’t want the fact that I masturbate to be the reason God doesn’t bless the business or the reason I can’t find a wife.
Sorry for this, but I would really appreciate your feedback as I know I may be a little old for this, just some things that have been on my mind for years.
Thank you again.
Answer:
While my primary focus is on teenagers, I do answer questions from adults because it can give teens an idea of what life will be like when they get older.
We tend to think of testosterone levels in men as being steady. Compared to women, our hormone levels are much more consistent, but they are not absolutely steady. The graph to the right shows the range of testosterone levels men can have as they age. The average is the line in the graph, but your current levels can be above or below the line.
Even daily, a man’s testosterone levels change. The second graph shows the typical changes both in young men and old men.
These changes also change from day to day. The fluctuation is greater and more often in your teenage years, but it still happens as you age. As you get older the swings are not as great nor as frequent, but they are still there.
Thus, what you are experiencing is a temporary spike in your testosterone level. Such generally last a few weeks before settling back down to your normal level. Where ejaculating twice a week usually handles your semen production, during a spike you might need to ejaculate more frequently just to stay even.
I get the impression that you think masturbation is a sin. The Bible doesn’t say it is. See Is masturbation considered a sin? If you are using pornography, that is a sin, but relieving yourself when the need is present is not a sin.