Coming of Age: Drama Free

Anyone who knows me know I hate drama with a passion. I remember back in the mid 90s how the word drama became related to the word mess. Here is the definition of the word, drama:

Drama -  an exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events or set of circumstances.

For anyone who has been through childish games with people, drama only stresses out the nerves and destroys patience. Drama destroys relationships. Drama destroys destiny. Drama destroys vision. If you're a person who's about something, I think you hate drama, too. Drama happens when one or some people are going somewhere in life and their supposed "friends" begin to hate on them. Or maybe there's a minor conflict at the job and someone who lacks maturity or foresight takes the conflict to a level where it shouldn't go. Wow. Drama occurs when someone walks too much in their emotions, which leads to selfishness; therefore when someone is trying to "help" them, they get into their emotions. Now everyone is the enemy. Everybody is against them. Everybody is trying to tell them how to live. Drama occurs when people don't communicate with one another. Matter of fact, one side has their arms wide open to the other party. However, the other party (from being a hard-head) refuses to come to a common (meeting) place to handle the situation. Hmmm. Just as Isaiah said, we should come and reason together. People who are addicted to drama start lousy arguments and say stupid things that ignite beef; thereby births drama among two or more parties. I gets real messy. I guess in this day and age, reasoning isn't a part of everybody seasoning (if you feel where I'm knocking). It's sad man because drama in our lives doesn't have to be so. We shouldn't have all these tribal and cold wars amongst each other but we do. We shouldn't be tearing each other down because of lack of communication but we do. Within the past 6 years of my life, the amount of drama I've experienced supersedes what I experienced in all my years in middle school as well as high school. A couple of months, drama made me mad but now, I'm like Shawn Carter; brushing my shoulders off. Nothing good from people who start drama ever comes to the forefront. It's messy. You'll always see people forsake others, even in the time of need and encouragement because they can't let go of drama. If we would learn to be adults (this even go for you kids in the latter part of high school), sit down, humble ourselves, and come to an agreement (even agreeing to disagree -thanks Mrs. Overton), drama becomes nonexistent. Drama loses its place in our lives and allows maturity to settle in our spirit. When the Pharisees were hating on Jesus out of their selfishness and lust for power and fame among the people, they started drama. Everywhere Jesus went to effect change in the lives and thinking of others, here go the Pharisees starting drama. To put this into layman's terms, every time a father is trying to support and be there for his kids, the baby momma is finding some way to sabotage his efforts. Every time an executive of firm is warning his or her conglomerates of poor financial decisions, their out to kill them. Every time a politician stands up to Congress and calls them out for their inappropriate decision-making, other politician cook up dirt from their long buried past to keep them quiet. Drama and trust me, Jesus faced it (and still facing it), too. One day, He stood up in boldness and told the people the time of their spiritual and mental freedom had come through the move of God in Him. Thereafter, the Pharisees stood up  and tried to kill the man. But Jesus was a smooth dude, escaping their clutches, moved through the crowd and disappeared. How did He do this? Through His years of observing maybe what His parents went through and His surrounding society, He knew how to handle drama. Sometimes, we have to learn how to bow out gracefully and let those who continue drama hang themselves. THAT'S RIGHT I SAID. The other side of loving people is allowing them to learn from their mistakes. Sometimes, watching a bunch of Pharisees killing themselves (not literally) doesn't feel like an act of love but it is. That's who we learn; its through our experiences. So, as this blog comes to a close, I'd like to tell all me people out there who are ready to move forward in life, travel the world, start a business, getting married, writing that book, and running that ministry, be drama free. It's the best thing to be. And when you start thinking like that, no type of drama will harm thee (get it, it's a rhyme). As for Mr. and Mrs. Overton, we're going to do just that, be drama free. And to all you haters and drama-makers, grow up already, stop keeping drama going, and let God set you free. This is what coming of age is all about, being drama free.

Til next time, dGwO

Reference:
Luke 4:16-32

Grow Up

Maturity:
noun
1 her progress from childhood to maturity: adulthood, majority, coming-of-age, manhood, womanhood.
2 he displayed a maturity beyond his years: responsibility, sense, levelheadedness; wisdom, discrimination, shrewdness, sophistication.

This word is what we need. This is what we should aspire to achieve. This is what we should covet to become and discipline ourselves to obtain. But to be quite honest, a lot of us in American society aren't trying to get that at all. As the definition of this word maturity shows, "responsibility, sense, levelheadedness, wisdom, sophistication", is what we run away from. Maturity also entails accountability, an open mind (an expanded view of life), and learning new tricks (despite if we're old dogs). Why do we run from maturity? Why do we love the comforts of acting like 12 year-old middle school kids always starting something? Why do we hate to listen and apply the wisdom we receive on the daily? It's crazy but it's true. Within the past couple of years, maybe the past two years, I've seen immaturity in my immediate surroundings at an all time high, even within myself. The gossip. The lying. The cheating. The brown-nosing. The disrespect. Etc. Etc. We see this happen from the business world, to the college rooms, to the executive board meetings, and to the professional basketball team (i.e. - look at Kobe's plight with the Lakers {Dwight Howard}). Immaturity is like the worst form of malignant cancer for business relationships, friendships, church communities, and teachers providing valid information to his or her students. Those who are mature have to pray two hours more to deal with them and their complaining. Mature people can't hang with those who are immature because they already know it's like making a stubborn mule drinking fresh water from a well. Those who are mature are always in forward motion, looking to help someone as they as going somewhere, and desire to leave a mark of success (even in the midst of failure) before they're six feet deep. But let me give you all a bulleted list of immaturity:

• sensitive and takes offense when corrected
• shuns wisdom
• selfish and moody
• untrustworthy and messy
• busybody and unaccountable
• acting like a fool (in other terms, ghetto)
• no respect for authority (God, boss, laws, etc.)
• shameful and off the chiz-ain

So what is the definition of immaturity:
noun
the state of being immature or not fully grown.
• behavior that is appropriate to someone younger: they were shocked by such immaturity in a grown man.

My friends, I have some good news for us. It's time for us to grow up. It's time for us to be children and be men and women. It's time for us to step up to the plate and be responsible people (i.e. - taking care of our kids and making others raise them for us, admit when we're wrong, being real with ourselves, etc.). It's time for us to stop the gossip because on the real, our words of death are rendering death to the person we're yapping our lips about. It's time for us to stop disrespecting our bosses at our jobs and say yes sir/ma'am, no sir/ma'am (and if they're wrong, pray for them!). It's time for us to stop being and acting ghetto. Be respectful of ourselves and for others for a change. Ghetto-ness is keeping us from going to that next level. It's time for us to stop being so sensitive that people can't even tell us that our shoes are untied. Man, I can go on and on but I'm not inexhaustible. What I'm saying here guys, grow up. We need to do it now. Don't wait until tomorrow because it's not promised. Work towards maturity while its day. Jesus Himself could only achieve favor with God and with man through one thing, Maturity (Luke 2:52). So, let me leave you with these words from my long gone mentor Paul:

1st Corinthians 13:11:
"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

As my man Stephen the Levite said years ago, "It's time for the children of God to grow up..."
Indeed my brother, indeed.

Til next time, Tchuss, gw (exit dgwo).

References:
Proverbs 17:25
1st Corinthians 13:11
Hebrews 6:12