The theology of personality for beginners (like me)...

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"I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." - Gal. 2:20 ESV

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Ephesians 2:10 NASB

The Lord has instructed me to read the book of Jeremiah.  In reading this book of the Bible, I am learning more about God's character, more about His nature and the way that He addresses problems within His family (the church).  God's desire is for His children to know Him intimately, to be familiar with His personality and His style of leading and guiding.  If a student genuinely desires to understand the significance and meaning of a particular piece of art, it is better to study the artist than it is to study the art.  While a student may be able to recognize a piece of artwork by its style and therefore connect it to its creator, it is even better to have an advanced knowledge of the artist so that we may learn of the depths of heart and character that produce the brushstrokes which constitute the artwork.  In doing so, the student can remove his own subjective projections of the art's meaning and respectfully submit to the intentions of the original designer.

Similarly, the more we understand the Lord, the more we can understand ourselves.  When we learn of the Lord's personality, of His character and His qualities, we better understand His handiwork.  Because we are His handiwork, His workmanship, we can have a deep comprehension of God's creative and majestic artistry.  We do not study ourselves to determine how we relate to God, but study God to learn how He relates to His creation.

Sanctification is the process by which the artwork of humanity admits that it can no longer define its own meaning and submits to its Creator, to learn of His desire and affection for each of His creation, and to become more and more like the Artist on a personal journey towards conformation to the original intention of the Sculptor.  This is why I believe it is ridiculousness to say, "I cannot do this type of ministry" or "I cannot share my faith" because "it is my not my personality to share" or "I am only comfortable in this type of setting."  We cannot use our individual personalities to excuse our inaction.  As we are sanctified, our personality becomes more like the personality of the Lord.  Because the Lord is perfectly wise, He would not instruct us to do those things that conflict with our "personality style" because we do not have one of our own.  When we accepted Christ, we denied our individual right to define our personality.

Perhaps an illustration will help.  There are those who are only comfortable in their usual environments, who dread traveling internationally and are happy to remain at home.  We may consider this person not to be a "risk taker" because risk taking is not a part of his personality.  However, this person places His faith in Jesus Christ and through the process of spiritual maturation (sanctification), the person finds that He is drawn to serve in the underground church of China.  By nature, the man is not one to travel or take risks, but the Holy Spirit changes his heart and leads him to travel far from home into dangerous lands.  My thought is that the man's original nature or personality is not his actual personality, but his position of comfort in the flesh.  The Lord draws the man's spirit into Himself, regenerates Him through the power of the Holy Spirit and by the blood of Jesus, and the man now walks as the workmanship of the Lord into the deeds prepared in advance for Him to do.  The believer's actual individuality is that which the Lord created and planned for Him.

On a more practical level, there are many of us who say that evangelizing, the sharing of our faith in Christ, with others is not "our personality" because it requires the introvert to become an extrovert or the sheepish to become bold.  While the Lord has called some to be speakers in stadiums and others conversational witnesses in the grocery store, He has called us all to evangelize.  We must not use our "personality" as an excuse not to fulfill the commands of the Lord because our personality is the Lord's.  The "personality style" of the Christian is that of his or her Creator.  This is what it means in the Scriptures when it says we die to ourselves and become alive to Christ.  We die to the right to declare our own meaning and submit ourselves to the will and personal definition created by the Lord.

The Lord has us all on a journey towards a better understanding of His personality and His character.  My prayer is that we will become more like Him.  Together we can learn about our collective personality as designed by the Spirit of God.  True story.