How Fantasies Block Dreams

by Alicia Renee on 08/20/10

Copyright © 2010 by Alicia Renee Sheppard

 

The family you wish you had, the places you wish you'd traveled to, the money you wish you were making, the charm you wish you possessed, the significant other you wish you had (or wish your spouse would be), the power you'd like to command, the car, the house, the life, the clothes, the friends, the accomplishments--all the things you wish your life could be.

 

Dictionary.com defines fantasy as "imagination, daydream, or illusion."

 

In this blog, I want to propose that indulging in fantasy can in fact be one of the biggest things keeping people from actually living their dreams.  (Now for you people with logical foresight you may be thinking--Hey! Imagination is good!  I need my imagination, because imagination works with my faith!  To you I would say, you are absolutely right!  The imagination of vision works with faith, but the imagination of fantasy often works against it.  Realize that in this blog I am using the words "vision" and "fantasy" to describe two different concepts, which I will describe.  Just read on :)).

Vision

 

The Bible refers to "vision" as something given by God, which typically serves to push us in a particular direction.  Vision is defined as, "the power or sense of sight...unusually keen perception, or mental image of something imaginary." Vision is powerful because it enables us to see that which is attainable, before it materializes.  Because we see it, we believe in its reality, and are motivated to pursue it.  It moves us toward destiny.

 

We know vision is important because Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no revelation [vision in some translations], the people cast off restraint." In other words, vision promotes discipline.  If you have a vision of buying a house, you may restrain yourself from spending frivolously because you have a goal in mind which requires saving.  Hosea 4:6 is another popular verse, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Vision provides life-changing direction as well as life-giving inspiration.

Fantasy

 

I think of fantasy as the counterfeit version of vision.  It's not quite a God-given image of a goal; it's more like a fleeting wish, a retreat, or a place of mental escape from the world you actually live in to the world you wish you lived in.

 

Here's a critical distinction: vision intersects reality.  It says, because I see this, I will pursue it in my own life.  Fantasy avoids reality.  It says, because I don't have this, I will pretend to have it in my mind.

Uses & Effects of Fantasy

 

People use fantasy in various ways, creating many destructive side effects.  Let's look at some examples.

Comfort & Stagnation

Fantasy keeps you from moving forward.  Instead of pushing you in the direction of what you want, it temporarily soothes you by giving you an imaginary replacement.  Say you go to work and your job is boring.  To make matters worse, you're getting behind in your work.  It's at moments like these, when we're frustrated with real life, that we can call upon fantasy to aid and comfort us.  See, fantasy is not like vision, which gives us a goal to aim for and propels us OUT of our current condition.  Fantasy only comforts you IN your current condition.  And when you get comfortable in a condition, the longer you're prone to stay there. So back to work--you're sitting there, dreaming of the job you wish you had in this comforting, day-dream-like state, and all the meanwhile even more work is being left undone, piling up, and making you fall farther behind.  Fantasy not only keeps you where you are, but digs you deeper into the hole you’re already in by arresting your progressive action.

 

How do I know?  Yep...I've been there.

Laziness

I realized that fantasy can also bring on a strong, bad habit of laziness.  After all, in a fantasy world, the reward comes to you!  Who ever fantasizes of working hard, staying up late, or sacrificing?  Not me!  Fantasy circumvents the work needed to produce the result, whereas vision lays out a path to walk on.

Life Anesthesia

Fantasy is also used to numb the unpleasantness of life--and oh, how much unpleasantness there is.  There is always the pressing reality of dissatisfaction, burdens, responsibilities, disappointments, frustration, or struggles in relationships, finances, or vocation--these are unending.  These difficulties tempt people to numb aspects of their life.  Some don't even use their own fantasies to do so--they turn on the television and get engulfed in a televised fantasy like a reality TV show where they indulge, in an excessive manner, in another person's life instead of their own!

 

The problem with numbing, though, is you can't control what you numb.  If you numb the unpleasantness of life, you also numb your sensitivity to opportunities to advance.  See, hidden within all dissatisfaction is opportunity--an opportunity to recalibrate your life or change your direction, an opportunity to work harder and move closer to your goal, an opportunity to follow God out of the wilderness into the land of promise.  When you numb your life, you miss these opportunities.  For instance if you numb an unfulfilling job with fantasy, you may miss the voice of vision pushing you in a different direction, toward something God actually has for you.  So when you numb life with fantasies, not only do you miss opportunities, but you also forfeit a real promise for the mere illusion of one.

A Cheap Replacement

Sometimes we use fantasy to fill holes.  Am I struggling to manage my real-life relationships?  Maybe I'll spend my time living vicariously through other people's relationships (rather than working on my own).  Or I will tend to superficial relationships (perhaps on Facebook) while neglecting deeper relationships.  Sometimes we have holes in our lives and we fill them with comforting, stagnation-inducing fantasies.  But anytime you fill a hole with a comforting counterfeit, you remove the space for God to bring the real thing.

 

Read the story of the widow's oil in 2 Kings 4:1-7.  The widow had to gather empty jars, places of space, for God to fill with provision.  (She also had to take action by getting the jars herself).  Why then do we try to fill our own jars with illusion instead of leaving them empty so we can experience a real life move of God in that area?  I believe it's because we fear temporary emptiness--but isn't it so much worse to be permanently unfulfilled?

 

I tweeted a couple weeks ago: "Fantasies become crippling when they begin to SATISFY that which the fruit of our real life action is supposed to satisfy."  Some illusion becomes such a commonplace facet of our lives that it actually begins to quench our desire for the real thing--how dangerous.

A Spiritual Perspective

In John 10:10 Jesus says, "I came that you might have life, and that more abundantly." But on the other hand, the devil, "the thief," comes, "only to steal, kill, and destroy." Imagine--if the devil can't riddle your life with sin, can't he steal the quality of your life with fantasies that keep you in a complacent state that blocks you from the true abundant life God has for you?  He may not kill your physical life, but he'll settle for keeping you from mentally existing in it.

Wrapping it Up

So to sum up, here are the key differences, once again, between fantasy, and vision:

 

Fantasy: an escape, a comfort, a place of stagnation, an illusion.

 

Vision: a life goal, a motivator, a place of faith & action, an attainable reality.

 

Remember, God's Word tells us, "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty," (Proverbs 14:23).  And also, "He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty," (Proverbs 28:19).  And the last verse is this, Jeremiah 2:7, which says, "My people...have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." Sometimes the void within us is calling deeper than our bodies, deeper than our souls, to our spirits.  We feel a deep lack of fulfillment but try to fill a God-shaped void with pleasure.  But those replacements are like broken cisterns.  Have you ever tried to carry water in a cracked jar?  You may get a few sips but you will never be satisfied.  God is the well.  He wants to fill you--but you have to leave the jars behind and receive Him.  For others, you have received God, but you are settling for less in other areas of your life.  Fantasies can also be like the broken jar.  Counterfeits always have cracks.  Let God bless you from his unending spring of abundance, for "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father..." (James 1:17).

 

What if every time we hit a bump we took a step toward vision instead of a retreat into fantasy?  I don't know about you, but I want the real thing.  Let's abandon crutches of temporary comfort and free ourselves to experience permanent fulfillment in true blessings from God.

<3 Alicia