“I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:14 NASB)
I sometimes have a hard time believing that about myself; that apart from my sin, I am exactly who I am suppose to be. That God made me wonderful. Because sometimes I struggle with who I am.
Now I’m not talking about sin here, I’m talking about my personality. Anyone familiar with the Myers-Briggs Test will recognize the letters I put for my title. The world is made up of many types of people. Extroverts. Introverts. Logical. Emotional. Fast paced. Slow paced.
I happen to be a logical slow paced kinda person. Here’s an excerpt I found that fits me almost to a T:
- ISTJ’s are known as the “Examiners” or “Inspectors” of the 16 types.
- They have a keen sense for right and wrong and they have a strong ability to handle details.
- They may appear cold and uncaring because of their ability for logic and objectivity.
- They are decisive and practical when it comes to managing people.
- You will find them in areas where stability and dependability are more important than creativity.
- Extremely loyal and dependable, they place a high value on honesty and integrity.
- They are the good citizens who put duty before pleasure.
- They won’t allow themselves to relax until they have finished the work planned for that day.
- Well organized they strongly believe in being on time and not being late.
- Introverted, realistic, down to earth, logical, disciplined and organized.
Nice list, eh? The problem is I find myself fighting my personality when it comes to loving people (most especially my family). Do you ever struggle with that? Do you struggle when your personality clashes with someone else? Its not sin, its simply a difference in personality. Like phone calls. I hate phone calls. I can’t see the person, I become tongue tied, then that awkward moment of silence comes making me wish the call was over. It has nothing to do with the person on the other side of the line. It’s just me.
On the other hand, there are some of you that love phone calls. You could talk for hours. I’ll admit, I definitely do not understand that nor do I think I ever will. Is one of us right and one of us wrong? Nope. Its just different personalities.
However, there are times I wish I could change who I am. I wish I naturally thought more of people than solutions to problems. I wish I could easily read people and see what they need instead of looking blankly at them when they are hurting (more like the deer in the headlights look).
Lately I’ve been wondering where I fit in the church? Where does a logical, analytical, facts first kind of personality fit in a place that says to love people and put them first? Where does a Martha fit in a Mary world? Sometimes I feel I would be a better Christian if loving people came more naturally to me.
I guess that’s why God says, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT). The personality God gave me gives me strengths (perseverance, integrity, the ability to look at a problem intellectually and not emotionally). But it also has its weaknesses (like loving people).
I need God’s strength to love people. I need His example and power. I only need to look at what I would be without God to see how much He has changed me. I can actually say the words “I love you.” I give hugs and kisses. And I feel His Spirit move inside of me, whispering to me, showing me what I naturally would not see in people.
I guess God didn’t make a mistake after all when He made Morgan. This world needs my kind of personality 😛 But I need God to become all that I can be. And that’s a good thing.
By the way, for anyone wondering, Dan is an ENFP (yes, you are seeing correctly, every letter is opposite of mine… goes to show you God had a sense of humor when He put us together lol).
*The website I found the list for ISTJ is http://www.careerplanner.com/MB2/PersonalityType-ISTJ.cfm
Morgan L. Busse 
Morgan,
I think we all feel like we could be different , act different at timees but when it comes down to it we are who we are and God and everyone else Loves us for who we are even when we dont see or understand what were feeling at that time ..With the Church being the size it is you have to seek what you would like to be involved in or push yourself to do a bible study or you will find yourself maybe never feeling like you fit in because you have to jump in and be involved even when it’s hard or dont know where to start . Im always willing to help anyway I can if you need me just yell and I will help you anyway I can . God made you the way you are because in his eyes you are a work in progress just as I am .. I really enjoy reading your thoughts it helps me to stop and relize that I am not perfect jk !! Ive known that for a long time .. lol .. Take Care and God Bless !
Dana
Thanks Dana 🙂
I think it comes down to God allowing us to have weaknesses so that we can only say that God did that through us. I can be such a independent person (do it all myself), that it is good to be reminded I need God in my life (and He knows that too :).
Morgan, I’m married to an ENFP too. We’re lucky girls. 🙂
I relate to your post. I’m an INTJ and there are some similarities between our types, especially when it comes to loving people. Just remember that you have been specially and uniquely equipped for the job that God will complete in your life. And you’re right. He is made strong in your weakness, just as He is in mine. He’s even made strong in my husband’s weakness, though he be super-lovey and Mr. Compassionate. I guess those “F” types have some flaws, too. 😉
Hey Lindsay! Thanks for stopping by. I think we met at the MT Hermon Conference last year (you were in Jeff Gerke’s track, right?).
Yeah, its a good thing opposites attract. ENFP’s are fun (but sometimes they can drive ya nuts too lol).
Yep, that was me! 🙂
Being an ISTJ, was it hard to come up with the personalities for the characters you wrote? Did you use the Myers-Briggs personality types for them? I loved your books,. Cant wait for the third one to come out 🙂
Hi Meg!
Yes, I use personality profiles for my characters. It can be too easy to start putting myself in them and then they act out of character. It also helps that my editor keeps my characters on track as well 😉
Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an really long comment but after I
clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m
not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say great blog!
Great piece about us ISTJs. You summed me up perfectly. Wishing you a continually happy marriage. Thank you.
Thank you 🙂
Personally, I’m a fan of ISTJs, but my mother is one and in addition to being the most stable, loving (non-mushy, but I appreciate that) figure in my childhood, she was the one responsible for opening all the doors of fantasy and science fiction to me, and even cosplayed with me as a teenager. And speaking as an INFJ who is often plagued with worrying about what everyone else thinks and how they are feeling, that sturdy, detail-oriented, logical approach is completely fantastic and a true gift. I credit my mother’s presence with giving me thicker skin than I otherwise would have. And I type/profile all my characters as well. It helps maintain narrative consistency.
I found this through a Google search and wanted to put in my two cents’ worth. 🙂
I’m also an ISTJ and I’ve had all those same thoughts. I think, however, that the thought process in itself is actually flawed – it works with a biased view of what love is and what it means to be loving. Just because one person has an F trait doesn’t make them better at loving than a person with a T trait. Being a “feeler” means that a person makes decisions primarily (not solely) based on how that decision will make them (and others) feel. Being a “thinker” means a person makes decisions based primarily (not solely) on logic.
Neither of these guarantees perfection. A feeler can easily fall into sin because they just want to feel good – they want people to like them, they become self-centered and care more about their own feelings than others’, etc. A thinker can fall into sin by not caring about feelings at all, by using faulty logic, etc.
At the end of the day, there are different manifestations of love. To love someone well means to care about them and to want to show them that you care about them; it also means that you’re respectful of them and their wishes; it also means that you’ll make a hard choice to confront them about a problem when necessary; it also means you avoid enabling them.
There is no one type that is naturally better at loving than any other type.
Reblogged this on be the message and commented:
The internal struggle is real.