a moment for countercultural props for the box

my generation doesn't like boxes. in fact, we make a very big deal out of how much we hate boxes--how limiting, confining, restricting they are. we're so much more individual and free-spirited than boxes let us be.

generally speaking, i don't like boxes any more than the next postmodern. but i do want to take a moment to defend personality tests, which i've heard criticized several times over the last couple of weeks.

to be fair, a lot of the criticism is wise and valid. there is a danger in personality tests being interpreted by lay people. there is a temptation to excuse sin on the basis of it being part of your personality. and it's even possible to define yourself by your personality and thereby limit your abilities and excuse yourself from challenges. and of course, the limitation of personality tests is that they really only tell you what you already know--or think you know--about yourself.

so the reason that i want to defend them isn't because they're flawless, but because in my life, the boxes of personality tests have set me free. american culture tells you that you have to be extraverted to be successful--you have to be able to jump from one thing to the next, juggle a thousand responsibilities and invest in a million relationships. american christian culture tells you that women are supposed to be soft and fuzzy, slightly irrational, but tender-hearted. being critical--especially as a woman--is as good as being a prostitute. being indecisive is a weakness, and a sign that you don't have enough faith. in some places it's frivolous to be visionary. in others, it's a shame to be bogged down in details.

the reason that i'm a fan of the meyers-briggs personality test is that it helped me to see that God created me as an analytical, indecisive introvert for his own glory. and he looks on me with love--not as an egregious failure. it's helped me to see the good things about my personality, and to stop beating myself up for being so unable to live up to societal expectations. it's helped me understand that when i love people, it looks more like a sword than a teddy bear.

that's not to say that i don't sin in those areas as well. i do. i hide from people and criticize them instead of love them. and i make an idol out of the ability to make right decisions. i have as much to repent of as a decisive extravert. but let me repent of my sin, and not of my personality.