diff --git a/lib/colors.js b/lib/colors.js
index 96ed4a7..2238270 100644
--- a/lib/colors.js
+++ b/lib/colors.js
@@ -116,6 +116,13 @@ function applyStyle() {
 }
 
 colors.setTheme = function (theme) {
+  if (typeof theme === 'string') {
+    console.log('colors.setTheme now only accepts an object, not a string.  ' +
+      'If you are trying to set a theme from a file, it is now your (the caller\'s) responsibility to require the file.  ' +
+      'The old syntax looked like colors.setTheme(__dirname + \'/../themes/generic-logging.js\'); ' +
+      'The new syntax looks like colors.setTheme(require(__dirname + \'/../themes/generic-logging.js\'));');
+    return;
+  }
   for (var style in theme) {
     (function(style){
       colors[style] = function(str){
@@ -169,4 +176,4 @@ for (var map in colors.maps) {
   })(map)
 }
 
-defineProps(colors, init());
\ No newline at end of file
+defineProps(colors, init());