When I was growing up, one of the television shows that I loved to watch was Mutual of Omahas Wild Kingdom. Marlin Perkins, the host, and his co-host, Jim Fowler, would show wild animals in their natural habitat, and the show helped foster my love of animals. But there was one animal that was never shown on Wild Kingdom. This animal can blend in anywhere...in fact, you may be sitting next to one right now. It may appear normal, but looks can be deceiving. It is the elusive, predatory . . . Emotional Vampire. Some of you may be asking yourselves What is an emotional vampire? By definition, (my definition, by the way), an emotional vampire is either a male or female predator that preys on your emotions. He or she can be very demanding of your attention and your time. Sometimes known by their street names of drama king or drama queen, these animals are completely focused on themselves and they can not stand being around happy people. They will do whatever they can to wreck your good moods and make you feel as miserable and lousy as they do. Emotional vampires can take the appearance of family members, loved ones, friends, and strangers, and they should be approached cautiously. Until a cure can be found, one must not stick around an emotional vampire lest your risk your own personal well being. Okay, my tongue in cheek look at emotional vampires may be humorous, but have you ever met someone who is an emotional vampire? I have...lots of them, as a matter of fact. And quite frankly, they are difficult to deal with. They tend to be somewhat negative and gloomy in attitude, and worry about far too many things to count. I try to keep my distance from them, if I can, but I do find time to pray for them, in hopes that one day, they will quit being such drama kings and queens and realize that this world does not revolve around them. They seemingly transition from one emotional crisis to the next, and, once they have found a sympathetic pair of ears to listen to them, unload all of their problems on that unsuspecting listener. They are also known, at times, to dominate conversations, not allowing the listener to speak or offer his/her opinion and thoughts in return. Friends, in our lives well meet people like this, emotional vampires. Theyll want to unload all of their problems on us, never listening to any advice we might offer them. Their attitudes can be quite negative, and, left unchecked, can help lead to very hazardous emotions and relationships. We must be very cautious around people like this, and must not let them affect our moods. In my dealings with emotional vampires, Ive learned that I need to walk a fine line between listening and not listening, between helping and not saying a word. Again, the one thing that I CAN do for emotional vampires is to pray for them, in hopes that whatever is causing their negative emotional states would leave them and that they would be restored and healed. Sure, we all have our bad moods. And there are times when our bad moods may last more than a hour, a week, or perhaps even a month. We must make sure that we pray, get enough rest and food, and take good physical care of ourselves. And if our mood lasts longer than we hope, we may even need to seek professional counseling. Life is tough enough for us, that is true. Thankfully, our God is tougher. No matter how big our problems are, we know that God is bigger than them. And if we have a family member, friend, or coworker who seems to be an emotional vampire, we need to pray for that person and ask God to restore them. He can and he will...in his time. So keep on praying for that person, and try to help him or her if you can...but whatever you do, dont let an emotional vampire suck the life right out of you. Amen. ~John Lloyd~
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 13:32:21 +0000
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