Personality Test Mania.
It seems our Christian culture has so fully embraced personality tests that we may be tempted to create a new category for them in our practical theology. Now, I have a degree in counseling, but I’m starting to question if this obsession in the church is a good thing. I remember the days when the only test we took in the church was a spiritual gift inventory. But now we have so many tests; I can’t even keep track. I’m familiar with the Meyers Briggs, Strength Finders, Enneagram, and DISC. However, someone in my class today brought up a personality test of which I had never heard. Wow. I just found out I've become irrelevant - out of touch.
Let me tell you what I’m hearing that causes me to be concerned. Everyone seems to have five or more different labels that they are quick to offer as their identity. Seriously, people study this stuff and know it better than they know their Bibles (I could write a whole blog post ranting on this). They are listening to podcasts and buying books all to help them understand their particular personality profile. Are we that desperate to have someone tell us who we are? My fear that we are taking these tests to a place of self-idolatry.
It is God who made us and it is from God that we receive our identity. Only he can tell us who we are.
I would suggest that these tests have value in helping us start a process of self-discovery. But, are we really satisfied with the labels they give us? Each individual is complex, and each personality can be fluid, depending on our relationships and environment. It is an easy thing to get a label. However, it is really hard work to be self-aware. It’s easy to label someone else, but it’s hard work to get to know someone. Wrongly applied, I wonder what this will do for our church communities in 1-2 years. Will this hurt our relationships?
Let me know your number, letter, or type - your label. It’s like telling me the ZIP code where you live. It’s not a very specific location. Yes, it does describe where you are. But I’m still going to have to find you among all the other people who live where you do.
In the same way your personality label only gives me a starting place to find out who you are. I’m not satisfied with the label that you have adopted. I want to know you and how God has made you unique and valuable.