We live in a culture that is dominated by relativity, there really are not any hard and fast rules for us. Everything kind of depends.
Do you think abortion is wrong? It depends
Do you like Dunkin Donuts coffee over Starbucks? It depends
Do you go to church? It depends
Do you think lying is wrong? It depends
In a society that is so afraid of relationship commitment, we are also terrified of signing absolutely yes, 100-percent on anything, even when it comes to morals.
We do the same thing when it comes to who we are and how we act. We let people who are socially awkward and rude off the hook because “that’s just their personality”. I can’t count how many times I have heard someone make an excuse for another adult’s misbehavior and disregard for other humans because of their personality.
Your personality is not an excuse to mistreat others; it’s not an avenue you can take to get to hurting other people. Purposely embarrassing someone or putting them down in the name of quirky is the same as being a straight up jerk.
I get it, we all have things about us that are unique to us. I am naturally sarcastic and have RBF (if you don’t know what that means, do a quick Google search). I know this about myself so I try to overcompensate for it; I try to consciously think about what my face looks like, I purposely smile and laugh more, sometimes I do my makeup differently so my face isn’t such a turn off to people.
I think our culture puts a lot of emphasis on personality types and it creates a crutch for us to lean on. Just because you score an introvert on an online Myers-Briggs test, does not necessarily mean you’re an introvert and it does not give you the right to be distant or standoffish or to neglect to love others wholeheartedly. I think sometimes creatives and intelligent introvert types like to hang onto the fact that they are deep thinkers, so they shrug off their responsibility to be genuinely kind toward others. Likewise, if you score extrovert, that does not give you the right to be rude or to disrespect others personal space or lives. Our personality and God-given dispositions are not to be exploited for our own benefits or satisfactions, but as tools to serve and love others.
Loving and serving are hand and fast rules. If you are a Christian, you are commanded to love one another and to serve. This commandment is repeated countless times in the Bible and never, ever has any strings attached like “Serve one another unless you’re shy then you don’t have to” or “Love others the way Christ loves us, but if you’re naturally sarcastic, you can do that too”.
God used people in the Bible regardless of their personality types, regardless of their natural dispositions. Moses was insecure, Rahab was outgoing and fearless, Mary was soft spoken, Peter was loud and exuberant, but God, the Creator, made us all uniquely and wants us to leverage that for His kingdom and not for our own gain.
