Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, professor of psychology and author of the bestseller 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, is currently offering an online course called “Discovering Personality.” It’s aimed at helping people understand themselves and others based on personality markers. Let me save you the $69 and ask you a couple of questions:
- Do you consider yourself a pessimist or optimist?
- Are you a worrier or a bit more carefree?
- Do you plan to the detail or let things happen as they occur?
- Do you have frown lines or laugh lines?
- Do you blame and berate yourself when things go wrong, blame others or let it slide?
I’m not going to give you some fancy color-coded, cute name for how you answered each of these. Why? Because let’s be honest you already know your personality inside and out. You live it each minute of every day. And, in the end all of these answers could be considered “wrong” or “bad.” Does that sound a bit shocking? Aren’t all the optimists, carefree, “let it slide” people who we want to be transformed in to?
Let’s look at it this way: a pessimist might say, “I’m a failure. I can’t do anything right.” (something I suffered from for a long time.) An optimist might say, “I’ve got this! I know I can work this out for my good!” And both would be wrong. Both would be forgetting who has the ultimate plan. Both would be shining the light on… themselves.
I was a lifelong, committed pessimist. Co-workers and fellow volunteers actually considered me to be very efficient because of my ability to plan every detail. But my friends, I did that out of fear of failure. Fear of looking the fool. Fear that the other shoe would definitely drop and I needed to be prepared. I was in charge and if things went wrong I put it all on my shoulders. Doofus, idiot, worthless, dumb. Those were the shackles I lived in for years.
I’ve also known people who seem to go through life without a care. Things just seem to work out. And if it doesn’t there’s a shrug and a “well, maybe next time.” They’ve been given a gift but don’t thank the giver. They just feel “lucky.” They live for their pleasure. They do what suits them and ignore what doesn’t (like that pesky “love your enemy” command). While this way of living may be healthier than the pessimist, it will do nothing for them once their relatively short time on earth is complete. As Christians, we have an eternal goal with an eternal, glorious God. Our eyes should always be toward Him.
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:13-15
Recently, someone was sharing their concerns about a loved one who lives their life full of anxiety, doom and worry. My friend told me, “Well, that’s his personality. You can’t change that.” Because of the work the Holy Spirit has been doing in me these past few years I could comfortably state, “You’re right, he can’t change it but the Lord can.”
As humans our fleshly desire to control everything (and everyone) around us is so prevalent that we have even accepted that who we have come to be through our nurturing and environment is who we shall always be. We wear our personality like a tight fitting glove. Without Christ’s holy hand on our life that may surely be the case. One only needs to read about timid Moses becoming the bold leader of a nation, or the transformed life of a terrifying man called Saul becoming Jesus’ greatest mouthpiece for love whom we now call Paul, to see the power and glory of God.
We can’t change ourselves or others. But God can. Through turning to the Holy Spirit each and every day — and every minute — our minds and hearts can be transformed. In fact, as true followers of Jesus we must be transformed. I have people in my life for whom I pray for that transformation. Not for my benefit, but for them to be released from the shackles of a life lived for “self” and not God. He is the God of freedom and of joy and love and hope. I don’t want to ever say again, “He/She will never change.” If God wills it, then it will happen.
If you want to skip Mr. Peterson’s class may I recommend instead a free reading of the Book of James? In just the first 27 verses the apostle tells us how trusting in the Lord, giving honor and glory to God and acknowledging that God has the highest, best plan for us will be the very transformation we may need.
When we worry, when we take on responsibility that doesn’t belong to us, or even when we just think the “stars” or “crystals” or “karma” will align for us we turn our backs on God. He is the only one deserving of the glory of our creation and the plan for us. So whether our life is coming up roses or smelling like manure we need to turn to Him both in praise and petition.
We’ve worked our whole lives to have the personality we show the world. Remember that when we stumble in this transformation journey. Turn your eyes back to Him. Hold your hand out to Him. He is working out all things for your good.
To Him give the glory alone. Amen
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