I am a lover
of all things theatrical. However, I
absolutely avoid relational drama. There
are so many sayings about “avoid the drama” or “remove the drama” from your
life for more peace. The more I think
about this, the more I realize that life has drama. Some of the best plays are based on the drama
of life. People who back-stab, health
tragedies, poor choices, love, unrealistic expectations, prejudices…they are
all the foundation for some great plays.
It is the
dramatic that I wish to avoid. Some synonyms
for dramatic include:
Sensational
Emotional
Sudden
Artificial
I think what
is the hardest for me with the dramatic is that as suddenly as it occurs, the
cause of it ends, but the emotions linger.
Then you have the rubble left over from that one moment in time. What is the purpose of dramatic people? Is it to evoke you to their cause? Perhaps, but I think it goes farther than
that. As a society, we live in the
dramatic as a way to excuse our emotions.
Suddenly if
someone wrongs me, I have every right to lash out in anger. If I am given bad news, I have every right to
live in pity and have the focus on me. I
can be bitter and resentful because this news just isn’t fair.
I’m not
saying that I don’t have these emotions, but I now find them draining. I’ve gotten some really ugly health news in
my life. I was sad and I did have a pity
party. It didn’t change the reality of
what happened. It didn’t change the
reality of what I have to live with.
Instead that pity party I had only distracted from the real truth: God knew this was going to happen and promised
to be my refuge and strength.
Instead I had
made an idol out of my own emotions, hiding in the selfishness of them.
When I was
looking for the synonyms of dramatic, one antonym kept popping up: calm.
Calm also
means restful, at peace and still. Psalm
46:10 keeps coming up in my life, “be still and know that I am God.” One of Christ’s names is Prince of Peace
(Isaiah 9:6). I do not think this is
coincidence.
As I study
the character qualities of God, I am reminded that He is the opposite of
dramatic. I am challenged to be real, to
share emotions, but to leave the dramatic flair behind. We are called to share this life with each
other, but we are also called to hold one another accountable. There is no excuse that makes lashing out in
anger okay. There is no excuse to
holding onto bitterness or resentfulness.
These are only used to distract me from who God is and the peace that
comes with knowing Him.
Today I am
reminded to leave the drama to the actors.
