/ˈdrämə (noun)
- a play for theater, radio, or television.
- an exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events or set of circumstances.
- A self-centered social media post for the purpose of inciting concern by others without basis, reasoning, logic or the realization that there are people with real problems. – Definition added by the Jesus Chick
The Bible doesn’t say anything about social media, because it didn’t exist in those days, but if it had, Jezebel would have no doubt been an avid user and abuser of it. Her husband Ahab’s page, would have no doubt been filled with vile and self-promoting posts while Jezebel’s would have spewed hatred and slander towards God’s people, all of which would have been shared by her 850 followers (prophets which ate at her table). She would have no doubt intertwined those posts with her own drama and that of her sniveling man. #IneedNabothsVineyard #NabothWontGiveMeWhatIWant #JezebelsMyWoman #ImGoingToBedUntilIGetMyWay
That same nauseous feeling I get when I read the story of Ahab and Jezebel killing Naboth because he wouldn’t sell Ahab his garden (which was a family inheritance), is the same feeling I get when I scroll the drama on Facebook.
Now granted, no one is killing anyone for a plot of land. Or at least they’re not posting about it. But they’re still stirring dung for the purpose of inciting anxiety – be it in their friends or their enemies. And Christians are in the mix.
I read a post from a “friend” who was so traumatized because someone hurt her feelings that she felt compelled to post it on Facebook. It was one of those I’ve been hurt too many times to count, nobody loves me but my mom and even she doesn’t understand me posts. Insert rolled eyes here and tell me “What Would Jesus Do?”
This may not be the godliest of posts of my own. I’ve just really had it up to my eyeballs with Mr. and Mrs. Ahab’s drama. I need to know who told these people that their life would be without issue. I didn’t get that memo. And lest I get a stone back through my window, I can’t say that I’ve never vented on Facebook. But I can tell you those times are rare and regretful.
Drama is powerful
1 Kings 21:25 says of Ahab and Jezebel:
But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
Ahab had basically sold his soul to the Devil and his wife stirred him with a big stick. That’s what drama does. It stirs people up and not in a good way. When Ahab threw his temper tantrum on the bed (1 Kings 21) his wife’s solution was to kill a man because he wouldn’t share his inheritance. That seems crazy right?
What’s crazy is that that mentality is still alive and well. But because we have laws that frown on murder, people kill each other with words. So here’s a thought for you and I to ponder today.
Matthew 12:36
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
That includes social media posts.
So perhaps my thinking is a little melodramatic. It’s not the first time I’ve been accused of such things. But I’m not bitter.
We’re really not killing people right? But we are killing the power of our testimony! If I see an unsaved person on a rant, I always try to remember that they are not privileged to have the Holy Spirit dwelling within to help them out. But the child of God is without excuse.
Our job is to edify the body of Christ and to point the lost to His saving grace. If we look back at our posts, how many qualify?
It’s a question I ask of myself today. How can I do more for the Kingdom, and less for the cause of Shari? And may I never be guilty of inciting anxiety in the world. There’s enough there already.