Are you a Fan or just plain Obsessed?

³"You shall have no other gods before me. ⁴ "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. -Exodus 20:3-6 (ESV)

Whats the difference between being a fan or being obsessed?

One definition of the word "Obsess" Is: To haunt or preoccupy the mind

Obsession is dangerous. It takes us away from what is important. We think about it all the time, we put it first, we basically pour our lives into this "thing". It in fact becomes an idol, a god. Most of us have been obsessed with something at one point in life. I remember times, and I'm sure my friends do to, when I was obsessed with horses, dog agility and a few other things that sparked my interest. Fortunately my parents were a great help to getting me back on track. The only thing we should be obsessed with is Christ.

Let me point out that I do not think being a fan of something is bad. Being a fan is different from being obsessed. Although we may know about this "thing" backwards and forwards we don't make it the point of our lives. We don't allow it to, in fact, take over our lives for we have more important things in life than it. Note that there can also be different levels of fans. One being a extreme fan, knowing something backwards and forwards, or just a small fan, enjoying something but not taking the time to memorize it or study it in depth. I suppose you know you’ve crossed the line if you can’t give that thing up.

About a week ago I got into the discussion about Obsession vs. Fanship with some close friends. In the middle of the discussion Allison asked "What are some things that are easy for you to become obsessed with?" This is a question I encourage you to think about. Write down some different things that you easily get obsessed with and pray for self-control over these issues. It’s a great time to start challenging yourself.


Note: Posting will be rare for a while. I have a great post ideas, but they will take a while to completely. ~Katie