Should You Take a Personality Test? [26]

Host: TJ Freeman

Summary: In this episode of Back to Rurality, TJ Freeman, a rural pastor, challenges the reliance on personality tests to define identity. He shares personal struggles with identity crises and emphasizes the importance of understanding one's worth as being made in God's image. He encourages listeners to root their identity in their relationship with God and to live out God's word, regardless of one's individual personality traits.

Key Points:

• Identity Crisis: Many Christians go through seasons of life where they struggle with their identity. We might seek out solutions in an online test, our professions, or our friends. Instead, we should seek out to live according to the Bible says about us!
• What the Bible Says About Us: The very beginning of the Bible tells us that we were made in God’s image. We are His representatives and we exist to bring Him glory!
• How Can We Represent God: We can best represent God by walking in relationship with Him. As we continue to grow closer to  Him in prayer and studying His word, we begin to look more and more like him. Then we reflect Him to those around us.

Listener Takeaways:

• We can confidently trust the Lord for the way he has made us. We can fight the temptation to be jealous of the personalities He has given our friends. 
• Our own personalities are gifts from the Lord, but we can still take time to reflect and make sure we are living our lives according in God’s word, and exercising dominion in the way he has called us to. 
• When our minds are set on representing Christ, a lot of our own insecurities and questions about ourselves are able to fade away. Live to make Him known!
  
  

Connect with Us:

• Website: backtorurality.com
• Social Media: Facebook

Transcript

We live in a culture that is obsessed personal identity. You don't believe me. Jump on over to the Google and ask, what are all the personality tests available? Here's what you'll see. There's the Myers Briggs. There's the DISC test. There's the big five personality test. The recently famous Enneagram and a whole list of others.

You may have taken some of these personality tests or at least wondered, I wonder who I am really? Well, here's the kicker. These personality tests might provide some insight, but they cannot tell you your ultimate purpose in life. So before you put too much weight on those personality tests, Little quizzes.

Consider this. What if your worth isn't defined by your personality type, but by the fact that you're made in the image of God. Today, we're going to explore why your identity and purpose go far beyond any test results. So stick around, let's get started.

Welcome to another episode of Back to Rurality. I'm your host, TJ Freeman, and I'm a rural pastor. Today we are addressing the question that lies at the heart of many struggles. I've had many conversations on this topic.

It's just a really big, important question. Who are you? Am I? And at certain times in life, it's harder to answer that question than others. You may be in a season right now where there's a little bit of you that's just struggling with the who am I kind of question.

I'm glad you're here today to think through this topic with me.

This is a topic I've struggled with. During certain seasons of my life. One happened in high school when I had this sudden realization That I was not part of the cool crowd and I was wondering how can I be a part of that and I was really struggling with my identity and I allowed that desire to be a part of that group actually to dictate some of my identity.

There's a terrible idea if you've ever wanted one.

The same thing happened in college when I was trying to figure out what my major should be. I started off as a biology major. I thought I should be a chiropractor and when that wasn't working out so well, I really had a little bit of a crisis of identity.

It happened again later on when I realized that much of my faith was in legalism. And I was trying to figure out what it meant to be a Christian but not be legalistic. You can see how this just happens at various points in our life. And at one point, actually as a church planter, I wanted to know how I could best serve the church.

And so I was wondering that that question again. Who am I? How am I most gifted to be useful in the life of the church? And it was during that time that I took a personality test. And here's what I remember. I remember thinking, There was a certain outcome I wanted to see. I wasn't so objective that I was like, Oh, I'll just answer these as neutrally as possible.

I was a little subjective. You know what? I really didn't want to be labeled an introvert. I think I knew that I was one, but I didn't want that label. I just remember trying to answer the questions in a way that would make sure that I had an E rather than an I. In the description of who I am, there are other times that I looked at the answers to a personality test about myself and I thought, boy, I don't know if I can do this because that's just not how this personality test says I'm primarily gifted.

There's just all kinds of problems and issues with using those kinds of tests. And whether you're trying to find your identity in a group of people. test results on a piece of paper, some desired outcome, some way that you wish you were known. It's much better to start with scripture and ask, well, what does the Bible say about me?

That may seem like a weird place to start. Not because going back to scripture is weird, but because we are all unique individuals who process the world in light of what The Word of God says, and the Word of God does not specifically say to us, Hey, this about an introvert, this about an extrovert. Here's how you can really get to know yourself.

But here's what I would say. Ding, ding, ding. Exactly. The big deal In our individual personalities should not be about being able to identify in the way that is most authentically ourselves. That's like what the world is trying to say is the best thing you just need to identify in a way that's truly and authentically you and whatever you think that is today, baby, go express yourself.

That kind of thinking actually leads to frustration. and doubt and all kinds of hurts because we're all over the map with who we are on any given day. We need to be rooted in something that's more constant than a personality that can be affected by circumstances and hormones and all your background, your upbringing, all that kind of mess we bring to the table.

And here's what we need to know most about ourselves. And in fact, God was very kind to put this right in the very beginning of the Bible in Genesis 1 26 to 28. He tells how man was made. Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness. Now, if you're new to Christianity and you're hearing me say our, God is not polytheistic.

We're talking about A Trinitarian God: Father, Son, and Spirit. God is making man in His own image after His likeness. So here's the number one thing you need to know about yourself. You are made in the image of God. And there's a reason for that. It's because God chose man as His primary representative.

So God made all things to glorify Him. Trees glorify Him by being beautiful and changing their leaf color and dropping their leaves and putting out buds in the spring and having new ones. There's all of that. The sky, you know, sometimes it's beautiful blue. Sometimes it's dark shades of gray. God made all of those things, the whole spectrum to be a testimony to his own glory.

All creation does that, but nothing in creation glorifies God like man, because man is made in God's image. So the number one thing that you need to know about yourself. Is that you've been made in the image of God as his representative. So it's identity and an identity that includes some responsibility as an image bearer.

That. Reality that you've been made in God's image should give you more dignity than anything else that you can think of. You may be from a certain family. You may have a certain personality trait that you think is, you know, it's something you really like, something really positive, but there's nothing better than the fact that you are made in God's image.

That's the most important thing about you as a person. And if you're not, Then it goes on to say in that passage that man should have dominion over the rest of creation. The way I like to think about that is God made us in his image and then he told us to care for his stuff, everything else that he made.

So he put us in a position in creation's order that's higher than anything else. So like the endangered species isn't the highest thing on the planet that should be protected at all costs. The sun, moon, and stars are not the most important thing that should just be. Honored at all costs. Mankind is actually given dominion over all creation and it's a stewardship responsibility to care for these things, but it's also a positional statement.

There's nothing else in creation that should receive the kind of honor that a human should receive. And here's, I'm going to step on some toes right now. You ready for this? There's a movement right now to be. A fur parent instead of a human parent. I'm not talking about cases of infertility or something like this.

I know there are exceptions, but there's a movement to say, Hey, It's just as good or maybe better to be the parent of a dog that needs a home or a cat that needs a home than it is to be a parent of a human. Some people find more dignity in that. Here's the thing, I don't think you should call animals fur babies.

Because, you know, They don't deserve that of dignity.

I'm not saying animals should be relegated to the outside, they're nothing, they're meaningless to us. Animals can kind of be a part of the family. You can love your pet, but not the same way you'd love a human baby. And we just shouldn't even conflate that thing to say, I'm the parent of a fur baby.

No, you're a pet owner. Maybe you really love your pet, which is great, but let's not give them the kind of dignity that something made in the image of God carries. So this becomes this topic of being an image bearer who exercises dominion becomes foundational in understanding who you are and your life is meant to be lived out of that reality.

Coupled with that, at the end of the passage, is a command to be fruitful, to multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it. Here's why. God wants the whole planet filled with image bearers who exercise his dominion so that his glory covers the earth. It says it in Habakkuk 2 that the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth like the waters cover the sea.

the sea. And part of the way that that's accomplished is by the spread of humans who represent God, who bear his image, and who exercise his dominion all over the ends of the earth. That comes back to you in your rural community. I hope that in your rural community, you have a church there that you're a part of. I recognize that not all rural communities have churches. There's not a healthy church in every rural community, but you are a Christian living in a rural place and your personality primarily needs to be processed by you in light of the fact that you're there to bear God's image and to care for his stuff.

So what you really need to do. To express yourself in the best way is to have a really thriving relationship with the Lord. So that you know what he's like, and your desire to represent him well intensifies and grows. The Bible gets into all kinds of things that should be true about us as Christians. If you want to take a real basic one, think about the fruit of the Spirit.

We don't even have to go through them all. Part of your identity should be that you're really loving. When people see you, They know that that's a person who's not there to take, that's a person who's there to give. You love others well, and when they see you coming in the grocery store, they're happy to see you coming down their aisle.

They don't quickly scoot around and go down some other aisle. No, here comes somebody who really cares about me, who takes a real interest in me. Somebody who's joyful. That's the second part of the Fruit of the Spirit, isn't it? Joyful. Are you known as a joyful person? You may be tempted to think that because you feel wired to be kind of snarky, sarcastic, maybe even grumpy, standoffish, that's another one, that you should just lean into that.

That's just how God made you, and if people don't like it, they just should deal with it. Man, that's not how you should be known. If that is part of your natural bent, there's probably more of your fleshly self wrapped up in that. And as a joyful Christian, you're meant to show the joy of the Lord in your life.

So when people see you, they shouldn't think, oh, there's old snarky Sam. They should think, oh, there's joyful Jim. It just changes everything about you. Peace. You're a peaceful person. You're not known as being a hothead. You're not known as always having to get the last word to pipe up and defend yourself.

You're, you're a peacemaker. You've learned not how to be a peace faker, but somebody who actually can pursue peace because you're thinking with a Christ centered mind, not a you centered mind in whatever situation. Patience. You're somebody who is calm. Really the idea there is being long suffering.

So people can be super annoying and frustrating, but you don't show that you're annoyed. or frustrated. Being patient is a quality of the Lord, and that should be part of your personality. Kind. The Lord is kind. He's been so kind to you, hasn't he? And you want to represent that well to other people, so your personality takes on kindness the more you walk with the Lord.

If you want to read more about those, you can go to Galatians 5. You can see the deeds of the flesh first. And then they're followed by the fruit of the spirit, against which there is no law. Things that you can just freely do. These are the kinds of things.

There's a place in Philippians 4, verse 8, where it tells us the kinds of things to think about, things that are true and noble and right and lovely, pure, admirable, those kinds of words. Think on these things. The reason you think on those is not just so you have, like, A happy go lucky thought life. It's so that it transforms the way you actually live.

Romans 2 tells us that our life is transformed through the renewal of our mind. So we should train ourselves to think about these kinds of things. That will have an impact on your personality. There are many other passages of scripture. You can just go through and read the kind of behavioral things that you see in the New Testament and recognize, okay, this is helping me understand how to faithfully represent the Lord.

Now, you still have a unique personality, and this is good. There is beauty in variety. Just as God gave all of the writers of scripture, they're all inspired by the Holy Spirit. It's God's word. But he wrote through the personalities of individuals, and you can see that coming out to some degree. That's true in the life of the Church.

And there's just a beautiful, full expression of the Church when all of our different personalities are working with the outcomes of the Bible as our goal. In the way that we are living. So our personalities are expressing different aspects of what it means to get after these biblical mandates. 

You should not be wanting to be like other people in terms of their personality things. So maybe somebody is the life of the party. And you're more the one sitting in the corner chuckling. That's great. The life of the party needs somebody the corner to be chuckling along. And you don't have to be in the limelight.

That's not the point. Support them, love them, serve them, lean into what they've got. Maybe you're more one on one, quiet, and you do really good on one on one discipling. Where somebody else might do really good getting up in front of a whole group. Those are the kinds of personality things that are far less consequential, but their differences do add variety.

And I think a broader sense of stability to the whole congregation, because there's a much more relatable whole instead of just, you know, everybody being homogenous.

But you don't need to invest in time taking some personality test to figure these things out. Do a little self evaluation from time to time. Ask yourself, am I being too shy? Am I being too loud? You know, am I serving the body well in these things? And just confidently trust the Lord, the way he made you, live out what you see in his word, and

you'll find that you find joy just being who God made you to be, but pursuing those things that he called you to be in scripture because you are his representative who is there to exercise dominion.

Well, whatever you do, have at the center of it all, making Christ known, and you'll find that some of those, who am I, kind of questions fade away.

You're a representative of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You're known by Him, you're fully accepted by Him, and you're here to make Him known to others in everything that you do. So go out into the middle of your rural community, in your home. whatever circle you're running in, and live for the glory of God.

Let that be your greatest joy. Hope this episode has been helpful. This podcast is a ministry of the Brainerd Institute for Rural Ministry. If you'd like to learn more, you can head over to brainerdinstitute.com. We specifically have in mind being an encouragement to rural Christians who don't have easy access to a healthy rural church or a healthy church.

If there's not a healthy church in your community, we would love to see one there. And I've just asked you to pray to the Lord and ask, what is my responsibility in making sure that God's glory is made visible in this community where He has placed me? If you do have a healthy church out there in the middle of nowhere, would you email me?

Just tj@brainerdinstitute.com. I would love to be praying for your church, and I even have this little map on the wall in my study, and I'm putting little pins in all the rural churches all across the country, and I'd love to know about yours. So email me, tj@BrainerdInstitute.com. Until next time though, let's get back to life. Back to Rurality.