One day at lunch, all of my friends were buzzing about a new show called, Scandal. I asked what it was about, and every eye at the table popped at me. "You don't watch Scandal?" Now I gotta be real... I never had a good feeling about me and that show. And I want to be clear: I just felt that if I watched it, I would enjoy it a little too much.
Ladies, it's hard to keep drama out of your life. And once you commit to Christ, you have this window of opportunity where for a while, things are clear and you can start to see what issues are yours, and what issues belong to other people. I offer this piece of advice: for the moment, work on you; give back other people their drama when they try to bring it into your house.
That is easier said than done when it's your mother's drama, or your sister's drama, or your brother's drama or your cousin's drama. But it should be an easy decision to let go of your cousin's friend's sister's drama, even though it's the juiciest, it is occupying your time with something that isn't for you.
We have to learn how to differentiate between drama and being there for someone. You can be there for someone by listening to him/her vent and expel negative emotions so that afterwards s/he can get back to what is important. And it's okay to listen to a friend when s/he wants your perspective, advice or help in understanding a situation, or developing strategies to cope. Drama comes in when venting turns to slander, when s/he is inconsolable, and most importantly, when no matter what you say, it does not bring relief to the situation. What happens next is that we take on someone else's problem as our own. Suddenly, you're mad at people you don't even know, and the poison of toxic emotion starts to seep into your peace. The owner of said drama is free, because they have found people to bear their burden, and now they don't have to take care of it.
Someone is going to read this and say no fair. I challenge you to ask God the next time a situation arises that isn't life or death, but is being treated like life or death. Ask the Holy Spirit, is this a real crisis or is this just drama? This experience will turn up your radar.
Dramatic people want you to take their problems for them. More often then not, they have not found a proper stage in their waking life to express their talents. There will always be people who know how to tell a story in a compelling way, that you just can't turn away from it. These are not necessarily enemies! It's more about guarding your heart so that you don't end up taking on battles that have nothing to do with you.
I know myself pretty well. If I watch Scandal, I won't stop thinking about it. It will occupy my thoughts and dreams. And the scandalous things that undoubtedly go on will disturb me and push my buttons on what I accept for myself. Mainstream television is designed to force its own agenda on us, telling us what we value as a society, and how we should behave.
Speaking of this, I find that reality TV shows are havens for drama. Every Real Housewives show I can think of don't actually look like real housewives! These people have time to run around cussing off and yelling at each other. What's frightening is that more and more, that culture is becoming acceptable among our youth. The same thing happened when I saw a trailer for the TV show Empire. I was so excited to see it, and after watching the preview, I realized that this too was not for me.
I don't want to tell you what you should or should not watch- that's not my decision to make. I want to remind you that your body absorbs what you feed it: music, internet, TV, movies. You can't just live on McDonald's! Feed your mind good things that will grow your spirit. Be a purveyor of peace among your family. Walk away from drama and in doing so, you will clean out the trash that the world deposits in you every day. Make some Christian friends and talk to them! They are looking for someone just like you. Let your conversation be full of grace and seasoned with salt (Colossians 4:6). Encourage each other daily, so that you might be able to witness the growth of your friends and be challenged to continue pursuing God. He cares for you, and can promise you what Mary J. herself gave up back in 2001. Check it out for yourself!