Drama is a drain and a pain.
Not “drama” as in movies and TV shows that are heavy emotionally, but rather “drama” as in the petty ridiculous unimportant events or feelings that get blown way out of proportion for no reason at all.
Urban Dictionary has my favorite definition of this kind of drama: “making a big deal over something unnecessarily.”
We’d like to believe that petty social drama ends the day we leave middle school, but sadly, this is not the case. No matter how old they are, people can still find ways of adding unnecessary conflict to their relationships, work, at home, or with friends.
This is truly a shame, because drama increases stress, ruins relationships, and eats away at that one precious commodity none of us can afford to waste: time.
If you want to stress less, have better relationships, and make the most of the limited time you have on earth, I would highly suggest you eliminate as much of the drama from your life as you can. It’s why we’re doing a series called Drama Free. Here are 7 things you can do to live “drama free”:
- Act Your Wage
$15.706 is the average credit card debt per household today. 76% of American’s live pay check to pay check. 40% spend 110% of their income. It’s why we offer free Financial Counseling at the Ridge. Just mark it on your Connection Card. We have counselors who will come to your house and help you develop a spending plan (budget) as well as help you get out of debt and give. If you want to really get crazy then sign up for our Financial Peace Class offered by Dave Ramsey. It meets on Thursday’s in Georgetown from 6:30-8:30 for nine weeks. Here’s a link for more information. You’ll get out of debt, live by a plan, save and have drama free finances.
- Forgive
We all get hurt by others. Un-forgiveness keeps the hurt alive and adds unnecessary drama. It can control us as we replay the hurt back in our mind over and over. Often the person we are mad at has moved on but we hold on. Un-forgiveness hurts us more by creating anger, rage, depression and sicknesses. It’s been said that un-forgiveness is like you swallowing rat poison hoping it will kill the rat. Learn to let go and let God deal with the other person.
- Keep Your Spouse a Priority
If you are married you have been given a gift. You will become “one” with the other person according to the scriptures. There are many good things that try to divide a couple such as work, kids, family, hobbies or other people. Good can be enemy of the best. Ann Landers said, “Neglect the rest of the world if you have to but never neglect each other” A bad marriage is full of drama, learn to make your spouse a priority.
- Give your Kids Exactly what they Need
Kids crave engaged parents, boundaries and meaning not stuff. Instead of buying them off or keeping them and you so busy that you all go crazy, learn Godly principles of parenting such as accepting their uniqueness, affirming their value without losing yours, entrusting them with responsibility, correcting them without condemnation and loving them unconditionally. We’ll look at each of these biblical principles of parenting in detail.
- Remember Church is About Christ and Redemption, not all the other junk we bring in.
Church is messy because it has people in it. If you find the perfect church, don’t join it or you’ll ruin it. Yes the church is full of hypocrites, come on in! There’s room for one more. Thankfully as imperfect people we have a perfect savior. He loves us, died for us and will change our lives. As Christ followers, we’re just starving beggars who found bread and are showing others where to find it. Church turns people off by the drama people bring in that has no place, things such as not dealing with conflict properly, politics, condemning some sins but not others and judging those outside of church. Learn how to leave the drama out of church and then experience the greatest force for good on this planet!
- Social Media not the place to lose reality, or get discontented with your life.
Many people filter their communication, edit their pictures and portray only the high points in their seemingly wonderful life. We may not see the real person in a social media feed who has struggles just like you. Our church is a place where we encourage transparency. None of us have it all together. Learn to appreciate the ups and downs of life, be real and not be overly discontented with what’s on social media.
- Conflict is Normal and Healthy. Learn to deal with it properly.
On the other side of conflict is greater understanding. Conflict reveals points of growth and improvement. We learn to communicate better, express our needs and share our concerns, hurts and frustrations. Learn to deal with conflict in a healthy way and improve your relationships, we’ll show you how.
You may never be able to eliminate all the drama from your life, but with just a little bit of focus, discipline and with God’s help you can certainly minimize how much you have in your life. As a church, that’s what we’re doing together. It’s well worth doing – the less drama you have in your life, the more room you have for fun, joy and great relationships!
I hope you can join us for our series, Drama Free. I’m really excited about it!
Darrell
Sources:
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-card-data/average-credit-card-debt-household/
Upwards Church 