The Green Pastures

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” Ephesians 4:1-3

This passage is easily one of my favorites of the whole Bible because it can be applied to many facets of life. The area we will be addressing with this passage is the problem of drama. Thankfully I haven’t had much drama in my life. I have, however, witnessed a lot of drama. I have seen friends having a “falling out”, only for them to be back as best friends within days. On the other hand, I have seen serious divisions that resulted in people being kicked out of a ministry. I do not intend to say either is better or worse because drama is harmful no matter the size. But, I would like to share how I attempt to avoid drama and, when that fails, how I address it. 

Get Up

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” Ephesians 4:1-3

In this passage, Paul lists the characteristics of a peaceful person. “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, and an eagerness to maintain the unity of The Spirit in the bond of peace”. I find it so telling that he lists all these, and then shows that eagerness has to be present in each of them. It is not good to sit back and wait for the drama to happen and then try and step in and fix everything. It is more of a continual watch for roots of drama around you. God is constantly telling people to get up and get to work. He did not wait until the flood was happening to tell Noah to start building. He got ahead of it and told Noah 120 years before. Do not wait for the flood of drama to rise before building the ark of peace.

Pursue Peace

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Heavenly Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14-15

One of my pastors once said something that has stuck with me since the day I heard it. He said “it is always your job to pursue peace”. What he meant is that it is not the job of the person at fault to make amends. If there is drama involving you, then it is always your job to attempt resolution. Do not wait for someone to come with a heartfelt apology, begging for forgiveness. As people forgiven by the cross, we are called to forgive others. Jesus lays this out in the sermon on the mount. Matthew 6:14-15 says, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” We are called to be like Christ. If Christ bore all sin and forgave all sin, then we must also forgive the sin done against us. Now, we are not Christ, so we will not be as good at forgiving as He is, but we need to have the eagerness to strive to be like Him. Something that has helped me with forgiving people is to not only pray that God would give the strength to forgive, but also pray for the person. It is hard to dislike someone when you are going to bat for them to Jesus.

Staying Put

Sometimes we can see drama but not be a part of it. Keep it that way. I heard a pastor define gossip as “talking about someone negatively about someone else that isn’t a part of the problem or the solution”. If you are not involved in the problem or the solution, then it is best to keep out of it. All you can do by jumping into it is end up hurting someone else or wind up getting hurt yourself. Now, you can lovingly walk beside someone going through some drama by pointing them to God or praying for them, but do not put yourself in the drama. Wisdom is often knowing when not to intervene. 

In all of these possible reactions to drama, it is important to remember that all people are made in the image of God and that God loves them. If it is not easy to love them, then at least do it for Christ.