Personality Tests: Help or Hindrance?
The Enneagram is all the rage right now, along with the MBTI, DISC, CliftonStrengths personality tests. Have you taken one…or all of them? Or are you sick and tired of hearing about them? I’m a little late to the game with the Enneagram, and I’m pretty sure I might be driving at least one friend a little crazy trying to figure out my number. There’ve been a few articles[1][2]* written by other Christians about the Enneagram, which I’ve appreciated and would commend to you. I think personality tests can be helpful tools, and want to explore why I think they can help us better love one another. But first, I want to lay a theological foundation for what I think should be the “why” behind them: Jesus’ second commandment to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31). (This is not meant to be an exhaustive theological study!)
First of all, please notice that I used the word “tool” when describing personality tests. A tool is something that helps us get a job done. When we’re finished with it, we put it away, and often don’t think about it until it’s needed again. It would be a little strange if I walked around thinking about my hammer all the time, don’t you think?
The greatest resource we have in learning about ourselves and how to love others is the Bible, and it should be what undergirds and shapes our way of thinking and living, and what we meditate on. Our study of people should start there. But I would argue that scouring the Bible for how to love others isn’t enough. If love were simply a checkl
ist, it would be. But love requires power that we don’t possess in and of ourselves (John 5:39-40). Paul describes what love is in 1 Corinthians 13. It’s a popular passage that most everyone knows, Christian or otherwise. It sounds pretty, but the reality is that we cannot truly love without Christ living in us, because the love He calls us to is radically other-worldly. It takes His resurrection power (Eph. 1:19-21) because what is required first of us is death to ourselves.
We must know Jesus, personally. We must be engaged in ongoing relationship with Him, learning about Him and learning from Him. As we grow in love for Him, and grow in our ability to receive love from Him, we will grow in our ability to love others.
When asked what the greatest commandment is, “Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
It’s interesting that he answered with the first two commandments, rather than just the first, don’t you think? Significant enough to give pause—we must love Him, first. Out of the overflow of our love for Him and His love for us, can we then love others.
But, the Lord has also bestowed grace to men and women who have spent their lives studying people, and I don’t think it’s worthless. In fact, I think it’s very much like God to take the time to understand people. He’s relational and holds all understanding about people. It’s no surprise then, that those who don’t know the Lord would be fascinated by learning about people. It’s His imprint on their heart.
So, I think the personality tests that have been developed out of years of study can be very helpful tools as we seek to love others. There are indeed relational difficulties that we all encounter, and indeed skills to be learned to better relate to others. So, taking the time to understand how and why others function as they do can prove helpful. But, discernment needs to be exercised, and the language around personality tests should be held up to Scripture.
Whether we do so intentionally or not, we tend to function out of our own experiences, and we project our personal life experiences onto others. Without careful thought, this can lead to false assumptions about people, misunderstanding, and therefore, saying or doing hurtful things to people.
In my limited experience, it seems that people often spend little time doing internal heart work. We don’t know ourselves– how our family of origin affects us, what our weaknesses or blind spots are, what our tendencies are in stress, etc. All of these things affect how we relate to others. So, while a personality test won’t take us too far into the depths of the heart that I think we need to plunge, it can be a helpful start. And while many tests will list “weaknesses,” I would tend to use the word “sin.” I think when using the tests, we need to be careful not to fall into worldly thinking, but instead align with what Scripture says. For example, pride is never described as a weakness in Scripture, but as sin. Remember, the tests are a tool, secondary to Scripture.
I think personality tests can prove helpful in relationships with others, not only because knowing how we function affects how we relate, but because often times there’s at least one person in our life that we just don’t “get.” It’s easy to assume something is wrong with them. In reality, each of us has been wired differently by the Lord. We process feelings and information differently. When you talk to some friends, you might interpret what they’re sharing as a crisis in their life, when really, they are deep feelers about just about everything. We are more or less affectionate—and it’s not always because we came from a healthy or unhealthy family. Some of us are naturally more or less spontaneous—and it’s not necessarily because one is more or less responsible. It’s easy to make assumptions based on how we function, and often times, our assumptions can be flat out wrong. Or, it can be easy to not enter into another person’s world because we just don’t understand them.
I’ve been both the recipient and the doler of misunderstanding, false assumptions, and hurtful ways of relating. It grieves me to think of how I’ve been hurtful because, in my limited understanding, I thought I had a person figured out or knew what was best in their situation. I also know how deeply hurtful it can be to be on the receiving end.
Therefore, I think that in order to best love others, we should take the time to understand people. Personality tests can serve as a tool to understand people and learn how to love them better—but I would argue they can be a springboard, not the pool where we swim forever, nor should they be the foundation for how we understand ourselves or other people. Wisdom comes from the Word of God, and when we take the time to first know the Lord and His Word intimately, we’ll have supple hearts, attuned to others around us. When we take time to get to know a person, our understanding and ability to relate to him or her will have even greater depth than what a personality test alone has to offer. There’s no substitute for relationship. And relationship involves time, good questions to ask, and good listening skills. All of these skills can be honed in your relationship with the Lord. As He relates to you, and you to Him, you will be renewed and transformed (Romans 12:2, 2 Cor. 3:18), and equipped to love others well. It’s the first commandment in action—and the second commandment will supernaturally follow.
One last thing. Jesus is the only perfect person, and any positive personality trait that we have is a reflection of who He is. This is incredible—we truly are made in His image! So I think we can marvel at who He is as we study people. I also think it can serve as a help to our heart to appreciate who He is in those He has put in our life (Psalm 16:4, Psalm 149:4a). It can serve as a tool to help us specifically encourage others in how they are like the Lord. The fact that He has stamped each one of us with His image is praiseworthy, and so is the fact that He has none of the deficits we all do.
So, take personality tests and have fun with them! But remember that the Lord is the One who has the greatest understanding about people, and He loves to give us knowledge and insight through His Word and personal relationship as we pray for and fellowship with those he has placed in our lives.
[1] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-faqs-what-christians-should-know-about-the-enneagram/
[2] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/enneagram-road-back-somewhere-else/
*Unbeknownst to me, while I worked on this article, the following blog post and podcast episode were published, which I recommend:
Truth in Love Podcast, episode 168
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