Are you familiar with the Myers Briggs Type Inventory? I recently took the assessment "tool" and discovered that I am a ENTP. Do you know your "Type"? If you do then it may have answered some questions for you. For me it raised a whole bunch of other questions that are digging at me late at night.
Here is one: Did Jesus have a personality "Type"? I have asked two different people knowledgeable in the MBTI method and whom are certified MBTI trainers. Their answer was, "Yes, Jesus was the perfection of all types". This answer does not satisfy for a number of reasons. The main reason is that it is a contradiction in terms. Yes, Jesus was fully God and fully man. But even in His deity He cannot be both Extroverted and Introverted at the same time. He must have had a preference. That is the point of the inventory, to discover your preferences. To say that He had all the personality types is to say that He had no personality. There are big problems with that assumption.
If you are like me and say yes, Jesus did have a personality and it is an ISTJ. Then you should have another problem. What if you, again like me, are not an ISTJ? Should you strive to change your personality type to be more like Christ's?
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Interesting thought....but I don't know if I quite agree. The whole assessment thing is just to show us our preferences, our habits, but just because it seems impossible to us for someone to be both introverted and extroverted, I don't think it is. I think it's about balance, and Jesus probably managed to balance all of our character traits. For instance, in Scripture, you see him with crowds that would make any extrovert thrilled, but you also see him prioritize time alone. He balanced both. He didn't overlook the need for order (think of how he directed the disciples to distribute all that fish), but he was also okay with overthrowing "order" for greater things like God's glory or the needs of people around him. Think of the Father...he has ordered creation perfectly, being perfectly creative in the process. Jesus was the full representation of him here on earth. If our personality types lead us to certain temptations (like the introvert who is tempted to be a hermit, not participating in the body of Christ or ministering to those in need, or the extrovert who is tempted to neglect time alone with God) then we must assume that Jesus had all of those personality types. How else could he be "tempted in every way, just as we are"? Of course, our personalities change, but He does not, which leads me back to balance because there is a time and a place for all of those traits. We all have to use them one way or another. I may be the biggest ENFP there is, but sometimes I need a little ISTJ to get things done. That's why I married one. In all honesty though, the first time I took the myers briggs, I was ENFP off the charts. The last time (at the farm) everything was right at the center, except the P, which was like 100%. Why did it change? Because growing up caused me to realize I needed more time alone, a little more organization, a bit more thought and some wiser judging. I honestly don't know if i would be an ENFP today, but if my personality has changed, my need for balance in it has not. (I think that's the point of the inventory anyway, isn't it?) It makes sense to me that Jesus is the one who has the perfectly balanced personality b/c any balance I have in my own life comes from him.
ReplyDeleteThanks for provoking my thoughts today and for listening to my rather random response.
We are praying for you guys....and, I love the new blog background!
And if you already are ISTJ, then you are more Christlike than those ENFP types. I'm INTJ, so I guess I have almost arrived, but not yet, kind of like the coming of the Kingdom. Ha ha. I think I need to go to bed. I'm delirious.
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