Imagination and Fantasy

The difference between imagination and fantasy is something that I've been thinking about for a long time. Imagination is letting your mind work through wonderful thoughts and allows you the ability to write poems, songs and stories. Fantasy is simply the inner role playing of your life, putting yourself in places that you think would bring you satisfaction.

I believe that the fantasy thought life kills our walk with God, our relationship with others, and our ability to move forward without discontentment. It is when we lie awake in bed and pretend we're a great athlete, musician or movie star. Who doesn't do that once in a while? Haven't we all pretended we were the Olympic champion? But it's when these thoughts begin to consume our mind that we have a problem.

Lust for example, is a huge issue. When we start the fantasy life in this area, it cripples our ability to develop a true relationship with our wife. It keeps us in a place of dissatisfaction and discontentment. That's why Christ was so hard on this in the Sermon on the Mount. He knew that inner lust would keep us immature, as the person living in the continual fantasy life is never able to move forward. It is a foolish place to dwell.

The imagination, however, is a wonderful place. It is when we can sit down and meditate on higher thoughts, the inner spirit can soar with the mind and compose songs and poems. When I'm in this place, the world opens up and sanctified stories begin to pour through my mind. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this mental process. It moves you forward, as opposed to the fantasy life, which paralyzes you and severs relationships with others, as you can never be satisfied with anyone or anything but your impossible fantasy life. You will live there for the rest of your life and wonder why you never got anything done.

How do you move from one to the other? I've found that it is an inner discipline. You have to train your mind to stay out of the fantasy. When you meditate on Scripture, God sanctifies your mind and your imagination and uses that to draw you into a deeper relationship with Him and moves you forward, accomplishing deep and wonderful things for Him.

I know this is a little rambling, and I haven't fully fleshed it out, but I just thought I'd throw it out there, because I have a feeling that if you are reading this, you know what I'm talking about.