I had a dream this morning.

A wet dream to be exact, right before I woke up. And it's been haunting me all day.

It has brought out old pangs of desire for a guy (amongst others) that I know I could never have, if for no other reason than the fact that I would never try anything. I know that wet dreams aren't a sin because they cannot be controlled... or can they?

What's strange is that in these dreams, I often have the feeling of choice. In that place between sleep and waking, there's a part of me that is conscious of the real world, a part that knows I'm dreaming. And it is in that consciousness that I am seemingly able to control what I do in these dreams.

Although they're just dreams, are they still sins?

Either way, the desire is real. The people are also often real. And even if my ostensible ability of choice in these dreams isn't considered a sin, it still affects my thought-life. I yearn for people that I shouldn't. It causes emotions in me of love and desire that I have no suitable outlet for.

What's a guy to do?

This, of course, leads to the topic of masturbation, which in itself brings a lot of controversy. Masturbation is closely tied with lust, and lusting after someone is a sin; Jesus was crystal on that point (Matthew 5:27-28). And masturbation is definitely a sexual act of sorts. But say you remove the fantasy factor and all you've got left is the physical act of self-stimulation. Is it then a sin in itself? If it is, where in the Bible does it say so? The Bible does not mention it outright. If it was a sin, then it's a sin that has the highest fail rate for Christians. If this was the case, wouldn't God have been more clear about a sin of this magnitude?

Would it still be a sin if one was able to self-stimulate without fantasy, impossible as it may seem? Or if fantasy and masturbation were indeed inextricably linked, would fantasizing about a fictitious character that does not exist still be sinful?

If we remove lust from the picture, could it be perhaps that masturbation is not inherently a sin, and that it is actually one of those ways that God provides for us to escape from the temptation to engage in sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 10:13)? On the other hand, if that was the case, would God really provide a means of escape which is so seemingly conducive to another great pitfall, i.e. lust?

Questions, questions. And the dream's still in mind.