Title

There Are No Good Obsessions

Scripture
Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.
(Esther 5:13)
Devotional
The fruit of bitterness, pride, and the judgments they bring will always nullify whatever good there may be in your life. Haman had achieved all that he could have imagined. He was second only to the king, having abundant riches and fame, but because of his obsession with a Jewish slave named Mordecai he could only say, “This avails me nothing.” And as with all obsession, it brought his demise. Jealousy, envy and the like never prosper. They can only bring division, loss and ruin. There are no good obsessions. To be obsessed is to be inordinately driven and governed by anxiety. If you find yourself gripped with bitterness, always judging and finding fault, you may be like Haman, usurped by the one with whom you are obsessed and destined for shame and destruction. There is only one thing to do, repent from you insecurity and put your focus on the love of God found only in Christ Jesus.
Text For The Day
 Esther 5:13: “Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting and the king’s gate.”
 
Thought For The Day
“Fanaticism consists of redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim.” George Santayana, early 20th century Spanish-born American philosopher
 
Questions To Ponder
How do we overcome negative obsessions? 
Morning Study Guide
Defining:  “Obsession:” “The act of besieging; the first attack of Satan antecedent to possession.” Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
 
Referencing: “He is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,” 1 Timothy 6:4.
 
Applying: Make sure that your passion is not an obsession. Remember to be obsessed is to be inordinately driven and governed by anxiety.