Hey everyone. Apologies in advance, as this post won't really be of the usual fun and uplifting type, but lately it has been brought to my attention that perhaps I haven't been super clear on something.
Note: this post is specifically for Bible-believing Christians. If that's not you, please feel free to disregard.
By now I've made it known that I stan special interests and hobbies, and believe that Christians are allowed to enjoy non-spiritual things and can make those things acts of worship. I stand by this.
HOWEVER:
This does NOT include things that are sinful in themselves according to Scripture, or things that might be morally neutral but cause the specific person to stumble. It's one thing to be struggling with a sin, but I don't believe that we can justify those things or make exceptions by calling them special interests. Things like sexual immorality or greed, for instance, are not biblically permissible regardless of one's passion.
Don't get me wrong. God absolutely forgives sin when we're in Christ, but as Paul says, that's by no means a reason to knowingly and shamelessly go on sinning and abusing grace.
As far as what to do in fighting those kinds of hyperfixations? Honestly… please don't ask me, as I'm not a mental health professional ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ all I can suggest is making a habit of surrender to God in your heart, and trying to find other things that could be interesting to you.
We are all different, and many of us have triggers and therefore need certain boundaries. For example, plenty of people love the popular anime Attack On Titan. I personally cannot watch it. I am very easily triggered by scary things and couldn't handle it after trying a few episodes, and it messed me up for a little while. But at the same time, there are tons of Christians who love that series and can enjoy it without any problems, finding God and biblical truths in it, and it inspires them in various ways in their walk with Christ. In those ways it's glorying to Him. So for others it's fine, but for me I believe it's sinful because it drives me to irrational fear and a lack of trust in God.
My favorite game is Persona 5 Royal, and while I'd love to recommend it to anyone and everyone, I realize it's NOT a game for everyone, as there is a lot of intense and potentially triggering content in it. And it's okay that not everyone can play it. There's no shame in that. It's important and healthy to have boundaries.
There can also be seasons where it's wise to stay away from certain pieces of media when otherwise they would be fine. Like one of my favorite animes, Aggretsuko. I love it and normally it's just a fun and relatable show that I enjoy without a problem, but during seasons when I'm struggling with anger and rage… it's probably best that I don't watch it, as I don't want to add fuel to the fire.
And of course, special interests as a whole, though they may be good things, always have the potential of becoming problematic, just like anything else. It’s not good when something becomes a legitimate addiction, causing one to neglect responsibilities and such. Something to always be mindful of.
All this to say… please don't take what I say in other posts as a free ticket to actively sin, using neurodiversity or hyperfixation as an excuse, because that's not what I'm saying. It's still true that I don't believe in legalism; I don't like either extreme. The Bible is the authority on life, not me. I'm gonna get stuff wrong. I just don't want to sound misleading. This kind of misunderstanding hasn't been common or anything, but wanted to clarify just in case.
I do apologize for any confusion.
Ultimately, as Christians, let's humbly pursue the Lord as best as we can.