Addiction vs. Obsession
by Jeffrey Smith

1 Corinthians 6:12
"Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything.

2 Peter 2:19
“…for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.”

God gave us free will to choose Him and to live a righteous life for Him.  It also means we have the choice to choose unhealthy and destructive habits and behaviors that separate us from His grace and love.  Addiction separates us from God.  Obsession is that really distant cousin to addiction that when left unchecked can morph into a path of destruction and despair.  As Paul says in the verse above…”but I will not be mastered by anything.”   

Addictions master us and you have the ability to keep those lines drawn and not cross them.  But only with God can you succeed in keeping temptation at bay.  And as Peter says, we will become slaves to that which we allow to master us.

Titus 2:11-12
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.  It teaches us to say ‘NO’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self controlled, upright and Godly lives in the present age.”

The bible tells us that God’s grace teaches us to say no to worldly passions.  We must choose to say no. 

Webster’s dictionary defines addiction and obsession as such;

Addiction
compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance or behavior characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful

Obsession
a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling
Another way to look at it is that “Obsession” is being overly focused on one thing so that it prevents more important things from entering your life.  Anxiety is often associated with obsessive behavior, e.g. excessive washing of hands or cleaning of the home or lack of cleaning entirely.  Even an irrational need to collect or save certain things or like items.  Obsession can be connected to psychological principles of dependency, need and desire.  However, it will not alter the brain the way addiction can. 
Addiction is a medical term referring to a neurological process that in addition to compulsion, obsession, loss of control, and disregard to dangerous consequences; is also a progressive desensitization of rationality.  Addiction is behavior that interrupts normal activity.
Addictions warp our sense of rational, cause us to act and behave in ways we would and should not, and if no intervention happens will lead to only destruction.  Families are destroyed and lives damaged beyond repair.  Addiction can be associated with many things, not just alcohol and drugs.  Any unhealthy, behavior altering, compulsion can be an addiction.  Don’t discount any of it, seek help.  The best case scenario is that a therapist tells you are fine.  In the event the answer is different, you have taken the first step in getting help. 

Galatians 5:1
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

Addiction is that slave master.  Paul emphatically tells us that Christ has set us free from our sin, and through Gods grace we can be free from our addictions and break the bondage of slavery our sins have placed us in.