Cat,

Masturbation is an issue that everyone deals with. Your reasoning here seems pretty good, except for your treatment of the verse in Matthew regarding lust. I really believe you are really stretching that interpretation thin to make your point. Just because the definition of lust in that instance could be her enticing him does not mean that this lust prohibition is limited to between two people. I do agree that there is a difference between lust and satisfying a natural urge. But, there is a problem here. When you masturbate, are you looking at a picture, image, or video, or thinking of something in your head, "admiring" as you say? If you are, then that usually means you are somehow stimulated by that person (or act), which means you are lusting after something...either the person in the photo, or someone in your head, or even the feeling of orgasm. And in your case, this also means that you are looking at, attached to, admiring or lusting to someone other than your wife, which is a sin unto itself. Now it is true that it is better to masturbate and imagine things than to have a porn addiction. But do not delude yourself, it is a sin unless you are not thinking about anything while you are doing it, IMHO. It sounds like you are just making an excuse. It is much better to admit that you sin, cus we all do, rather than live in self-denial. Also, to say that the function of Marriage is primarily to enable people to fulfill their desires is short-sighted as well. It is a part of marriage, but as Genesis says outright, God created Eve to be a help-meet for Adam. Marriage is much more than sexual fufillment.