ENTP

My second year in college (wow, that was a whole 8 years ago!) one of my assignments was to take the Myers Briggs Personality test and to find out what kind of personality I have. It's a test that looks at how you interact with the world around you, how you intake information, and how you make decisions. It's really fun to take and when understood appropriately, it can be helpful in understanding relationships.

There are four spectrum.
Extrovert-Introvert
iNtuitive-Sensing
Feeling-Thinking
Judging-Perceiving

So when I originally took the test in college, it said I was an ENFJ (Extroverted,iNtuitive,Feeling, Judging).
Its the kind of person who deeply loves people, who lives out of relationships, always thinking about people's needs, etc.
But that's not me. :)

I took the test again a few years ago (thanks to Carolyne Rohrig) and discovered I am an ENTP. and boy oh boy, am I an ENTP! This means Extrovert iNtuitive Thinking Perceiving.

Reading the ENTP profile was like reading my biography. They get easily excited about a thing, they dream big, envision major change, gather people around the cause, buidling up momentum, and then often lose interest.
(for more info about ENTP read: http://www.personalitypage.com/ENTP.html)

Here is where I have to pause though. In reading this profile, which also included romantic relationship and parenting advice, I was struck by the fact that this description was dead on about me. In the relationship description, the profile said that ENTPs are very concerned about the health of their relationships and will be very vocal and intentional in making the relationship as healthy as possible. Me, vocal? Really? (I hope youre all smiling!)

But each personality type has certain strengths. It takes all types to make this world go around. But each type is also more prone to certain sins. I know with my type, there are various ways we tend to hurt people, to not follow through, to not be sensitive to people's needs. We can get impatient with people to change. I know that is one of my pitfalls in ministry. I am such a "thinker" as opposed to a "feeler" that I see what the solution is in someone's life and I tell them what to do, and then expect them to just do it. When they don't. Or when they struggle to implement my all wise counsel, I get frustrated and annoyed. Yeah, way to go Becka. Way to be patience and long suffering for others. Way to extend grace. One of my friends (shout out to Rachel) had to tell me to my face that I had no grace. I was graceless for people, especially my friends. Yikes, that is NOT the character of Christ!

So what do I do with my personality type? I rejoice in the good, for God created me specially to do His work here. But He also is showing me where my sin pockets lie. Those areas in my life that often go unchecked because I like them, or because they arent as noticable (as the major sins often are). THings like pride, selfishness, and inconsistency. As I see those in my life, I am praying that God would teach me to be more like Him. Jesus walked this earth with perfect humility, selflessness, and consistency. He was always patient, always speaking truth, and always gracious. It is this God that I follow. The God who walked the steps before me. No personality type can claim exemption. We all fail to live as God created us. For my personality type we tend to fail in certain areas. So in those places, and in all the places of my life, I look to Jesus, who walked this life perfectly.