Obsessed

Have you ever been obsessed with something?  As I look at Scripture I see lots of people who are obsessed with God.  How can I tell?  I can tell because their relationship with God redirects, modifies and changes their lives.  Obsessions guide our lives and our behavior.

Here is where I am going with this. There is a little Greek word used in the New Testament (its Hebrew equivalent is used often in the Old Testament).  It is the word "fear."  I have to admit it is one of those words I don't like a lot.  I avoid it.  But there it is ... in Mary's Song at the beginning of Luke.  "He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him. (Luke 1:50 NLT)."  Why do they have to say that?  We don't like fear and we know God is love.  Why didn't they use the 'love' word?  Actually the words love and fear would be very similar in this context, but let's go a little further.

The Greek word for fear is 'Phobos.'   This should look familiar.  We use it all the time.  We have phobias of things we obsessively avoid.  Aracnophobia comes to mind.  I went out to look at my back deck the other day and there is a huge garden spider web.  I haven't been out on the deck since.  Agoraphobia is the fear of going outside.  People who have this disorder irrationally avoid leaving their own house.  I hope you are seeing a pattern.  Phobias alter our behavior.  That is why the word fear is used.  The Spirit, through the Biblical writers, is telling us that our relationship with God should alter our behavior.  It should change our thought pattern and make us think about every decision and every move we make.  It is day-altering and life-altering.

Stanley understood this.  He owned a business and fell so in love with God that he wanted to express this love in his business.  The business was very successful so he decided to make God a legal partner in the business.  The legal maneuvers weren't easy, but he had his lawyers drew it up.  Then he decided that this was not good enough.  Making God a partner placed him and God on equal footing.  It wasn't the expression of love or fear Stanley desired.  So he made God owner of the business and made himself an employee.  That business has, over time, given millions of dollars to Godly causes.  And Stanley is just happy working for the God he loves and fears.

Stanley is obsessed.  His relationship with God changes his life every day.  How about you?  Is your relationship with God day-altering and life-altering?  Are YOU obsessed?