The Drama of Abby and Ace

Last week our niece, Emily, was staying with us for a few days.  She is nine and our youngest, Tyler, is eight and a half, so they had lots of fun playing together.

One day, early in the morning, I took them swimming. After a while their usual games and playing turned into a drama - a play.  Emily was the director and decided she would be "Abby".  She told Tyler that he was "Ace" and that a bad guy named "Bill" was trying to attack her.  Tyler...."Ace" was supposed to save her.

It was hilarious listening to this dramatic play by these two!  It was especially funny knowing that the only real "drama" they had seen was from animated Disney movies and things like that.  Being a girl, "Abby" was more into the acting....WAY more into it!  "Ace" just kind of followed along!

After five or ten minutes of "Bill" trying to attack "Abby" and "Ace" trying to get the bad guy, I guess "Ace" was getting tired of playing along.  I heard him tell "Abby", "Bill is dead.".  He said, "He's down there." and pointed to the deep end of the pool.  The look on "Abby's" face was hilarious!  No longer was she the victim and no longer could she act like she was because "Ace" had defeated the villian!  But she seemed kind of sad about it.  I think it confused "Ace"!  Wasn't that what he was supposed to do - save "Abby" by getting rid of "Bill"? 

This little scene between these two cousins acting out made me think about people in real life.  Doesn't it seem that some people actually thrive on drama, just like "Abby" did? 

After a little while, "Abby" began talking about "Bill" again, so I asked Emily about it.  She said he came back to life! I think "Ace" was a little shocked!

The "Abby" character thrived on the fact she was being attacked and that someone was a fight over her.  Her character was much happier (so she thought) when the conflict was going on in her life. She liked the drama.

Do you know anyone like that?  Like "Abby"?  Sadly, there are many "Abby" and "Ace" characters in the world and maybe even in the church. Paul addressed this in several of his New Testament letters.

Conflict, strife, dissension always come from two things:  selfishness and pride. 

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

James 4:1-10

Yes, unfortunately selfishness and pride get in the way of our walk with God.  They get in the way of our following Jesus.  Only when we realize that these two character traits are not what God wants will we "resist the devil" as the scripture says.  We won't want this type of drama in our lives.  We will realize that it only brings heartache and trouble, not happiness and joy.