Obsession sometimes sounds like a positive thing; being obsessed with a show generally means it is a phenomenal series, being obsessed with a musical group normally means that they are very talented musicians, being obsessed with your spouse/significant other typically means that you are deeply and madly in love and cannot get enough of each other. So when is obsession wrong?

As a Christian, I never thought of obsession as a sin, until reading Hayley DiMarco's book, "Obsession". Wow. Pouring over page after page, highlighting and underlining word after word, I came to the realization that I am thoroughly obsessed with a lot of things... and none of them were Jesus. The savior of my soul, the determinant of my destiny, and I would rather obsess over something like work. Not that work is bad, of course, that is not my point; but when we begin to choose one thing consistently over another, when we cannot stop talking or thinking about that one thing, when we begin to identify with that one thing - we are unhealthily obsessed. Our obsessions start as something we do in our free time to help us cope, give us space or to feel fulfilled. As our obsession progresses, it becomes a part of our regular life; we feel as though it defines us and we could not be without it, it is our "go to". When we are obsessed, we become prisoners to the things that once made us feel free.

Hayley DiMarco breaks obsession down into multiple categories in a beautifully simplistic way, I highly suggest the book. The link above will take you to Amazon where you can purchase it for yourself. In the meantime, I will be writing future articles on each of these specific categories and comparing them with other relatable aspects of our lives. Please be looking out for those to be published in the next several weeks.