Since antiquity people have worked to unlock the mysteries
of personality. The ancient Greeks noted
four personality types: sanguine,
phlegmatic, choleric and melancholy.
These types correspond to the dominant bodily fluids, they
believed. With my allergies, I’m sure Hippocrates
would have labeled me phlegmatic.
.JPG)
Many counselors, life coaches and personnel departments use
personality assessments to help clients and employees understand themselves and
others. Twice I have taken the test for
the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which labels me (and my wife) as ENTJ. (I used to be an INTJ until I became less
introverted.) Then with the DiSC profile, I am an “I,” which stands for Initiator, or Integrator, or
something. I never found DiSC very
helpful.
In all these personality models, there seem to be some
preferred types. Some are born leaders,
while others are destined to follow compliantly. I’m waiting for the profile that labels
people Loser, Sucker, Whiner, Coward; and
then Winner, Mover-Shaker, Lucky.
A friend recently pointed me to another personality
assessment tool. He found it through a
mutual friend, Jerome Daley, who
wrote about the insights he gained through the Enneagram. I checked out the on-line resource he suggested and took
the free inventory test. I don’t intend
here to give a full explanation of this system, but I do hope to spark your
interest and encourage you to learn more about yourself.
To me, the symbol for the Enneagram looks rather creepy, and
the name sounds like an incantation. As
I studied the system, I learned that the name comes from ennea for “nine,” and refers
to the nine-pointed star. The paradigm
suggests that there are nine basic personality types, and people tend to
identify with one or two of these types.
Each type has a characteristic virtue, and a trademark sin. The sins exposed with the Enneagram include
all of the Seven Deadly Sins (anger, pride, envy, avarice, gluttony, lust,
sloth), and two others (deceit, fear). A
person lives into her virtue by growing in integrity. One falls into his sin by using destructive
coping mechanisms.
As Daley says, the beauty of this framework is that no
personality type looks like the paragon of perfection. And no type looks like the ultimate loser,
destined to be chosen last by the team captains of life. Further, the Enneagram clearly shows that my wife and I have very different personality
types. I already knew that, but neither Myers
nor Briggs could make the distinction.
I devoured Richard Rohr’s book, The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective. He and
coauthor Andreas Ebert show the ancient roots of the system, and the Christian
influence in its development. The
Enneagram helps Christians discern spirits, as 1 John 4:1 encourages. From ancient times, counselors from other
religions have also found that the Enneagram sheds light on the human
condition.
The Enneagram shows how certain personality traits tend to
cluster together in individuals. For
example, people of Type One are perfectionists and tend toward anger. When they are integrated, they live in serenity. My type, Type Five, withdraw from the world
and tend toward stinginess. When
integrated, we bring thoughtful objectivity to the world and openly share
insights.
This model encourages the disciple to become the person God
created him or her to be. The Enneagram
recognizes our flaws, and forces us to come to grips with them. Then it shows us a path to wholeness and
integration. As we do so, we become more
like Christ. Only Jesus lived in perfect
wholeness. In him we see all nine
personality types at their best.
Most importantly, the Enneagram gives us insights into
ourselves. We can see our fatal flaws,
our habitual destructive patterns. We
can change our thinking and experience freedom in our souls. Only then can we responsibly understand
others.
I can maximize my “Fiveness” and enjoy the life of integration. I can recognize my tendency to dwell in the
theoretical realm, and push myself to action.
I can see my tendency to be stingy, and push myself to be generous. Through the power of Jesus, I can be myself,
and be a better version of myself.
