1 Thessalonians 5:15
“See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.”
Have you thought about how quite a lot of things determine how people respond to situations? For some, they were raised in an extremely toxic environment and that has made them naturally toxic people who affect others with their toxicity. While for some others, they were raised in an environment where responding with explosive emotions is a normal thing.
I can actually relate with both of these environments but this does not justify someone like me reacting to situations in a way that affects others negatively because the natural response to things for someone from my kind of background would be to react first before thinking rather than calm down, pause and pray before reacting. The truth is that life is full of drama but we can try as much as we can not to fuel the drama or not to be a part of it at all.
Who says resisting the drama- reaction is easy ? It is not usually as easy as one would expect because even when you personally try not to be dramatic, you might just discover that others are pulling you into their own drama. Some drama have to do with the entire family, parents, children, friends, relatives, spouse, work place, church, school, in -laws, and sometimes the government of ones nation or another nation.
A drama that we can learn from is in the story of Jacob and Rachel. This was a family drama that became a big mess with time. Jacob fell in love with Rachel and was willing to serve her father for seven years so he could marry the girl he was in love with and fufill his dream of living happily ever after with his beloved. Laban- the father of Rachel on the other hand brought a twist into this love story that would have been one of the best love story ever told by deceiving Jacob into a relationship with Leah- Rachel’s elder sister that Jacob had no feelings for. It all became more dramatic when Jacob decided to serve Laban for another seven years all in a bid to be with the woman of his dreams. He eventually got married to his beloved Rachel but he also succeeded in starting a war between two sisters which later went on to be a war between their sons.
As a result of Jacob’s love for Rachel and several other factors, he had this special love for Joseph her first son that she had after a long period of trusting to conceive. This was not hidden from other members of the family and it eventually got Joseph in trouble. It is better to avoid a drama filled life than to try to work on it later. Its effect is usually such that is capable of destroying many lives affected by it.
Walking away from drama, having to calm down even when we really want to lose it, sometimes makes us feel we are weak but the truth is that the one who walks away from drama or chooses to calm down despite all odds is actually the strong one. Such a person is able to allow less of himself and more of God in such situations and that is the best way to live life. The choices we make in life when it comes to when, how, and why we react go a long way in saving or destroying relationships, families, societies and individuals.
Kimberly had been married to her husband for 15 years and he suddenly sent her a text message saying ” our marriage is shaky and is bound to crash, so I want a divorce.” She tried all she could after she got that text message to talk him into getting help for their marriage through counseling but he remained unwilling to try and work things out. She admits that they have being going through stuffs like every other couple but she never thought he would think of getting a divorce. For her, he was being unfair to her yet she admits that his present financial state was a major contributor to his sudden harsh and provoking attitude and as such she was not going to act as he expects her to. All Kimberly does now is to pray and ask God for help and direction regarding the present state of things in her marriage. For her, she says it’s not the time to yell or scream at him in order to make him understand how she feels and how much he hurts her with his sudden change in attitude and inconsiderate request for a divorce. She says she is willing to love him regardless of his decision because love is patient. What would your reaction be if you were Kimberly.
No matter who we are or where we find ourselves, life always has a way of throwing drama at us but at such times we have to be sensitive to the leading of the Giver of life and not ourselves, so we can be able to respond not as life expects us to but as the Spirit of God expects us to. It’s high time we practiced what it truly means to walk in the spirt and not yield to what our flesh dictates to us because the world is experiencing more drama as the day goes by and we need more people who will help stop the several drama by walking away from it, calming down to seek God before responding to the action of others who are either frustrated, acting based on what they have experienced or are experiencing.
If we choose to calm down, pray and seek God before reacting to others we will have a less dramatic world where no one cares about what the other person is going through or what has shaped their lives, which is probably the reason for which they are drama queens or drama kings to start with.
Genesis 29: 16- 30, Genesis 37, 1 Peter 5:7, 1 Peter 4:8, Galatians 5:16
Author Profile
- Temitope is the founder of thesoulmeal.com, an online platform that she shares with her God-given spiritual family and friends. She is a speaker, teacher and youth counselor. She is passionate about inspiring people to find their identity in Christ. Catch her interviewing inspiring leaders on Tongue of the Learned Podcast
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Great piece mum. God bless you greatly.
Glad you find it useful.