Have you ever wondered why one person can seem so easygoing and another can be extremely hard to get along with?
Have you wondered why some people can be timid and another seems to be bold, bossy and opinionated, or why one person spends money carelessly while someone else seems to be extremely thrifty? Have you wondered why some people can be concerned about taking care of the disadvantaged and other people seem unsympathetic towards helping someone?
The Bible actually has answers to understanding what makes up our personalities. It can be found in the personality profile of God or the motivational gifts found in Romans 12:4-8:
“For just as we have many parts in one body, and not all parts have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and all are parts of one another. We have diverse gifts according to the grace that is given to us: if prophecy, according to the proportion of faith; if service, in serving; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with generosity; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”
How these motivational gifts show up in our lives will determine a lot about our personalities. We all have the motivational gifts, but some of the gifts will be more dominant in us than others. For example, you may be strong in the mercy gift and weaker in the area of encourager.
Here is the list of the seven motivational gifts of God:
- Prophet-motivated
- Server-motivated
- Teacher-motivated
- Encourager-motivated
- Giver-motivated
- Administrator-motivated
- Mercy-motivated
The prophet-motivated person can be extremely judgmental and critical. The server is not happy unless they are busy doing something. The teacher is normally a great writer, but not always an entertaining speaker. The encourager is a carefree, people person who’s usually terrible with handling money. The giver-motivated person can be extremely economical and a great money manager. The administrator likes to be in charge and in control of everything they do. The mercy-motivated person can be extremely sensitive and always getting their feelings hurt. God put these gifts in all of us, but sometimes we can get out of balance if we don’t work on developing all of these gifts.
For example, Judas was an excellent administrator, but a lack of mercy and the love of money seemed to be his downfall (John 12:6). Samson was an encourager, but his carelessness cost him his anointing for a season. Jonah was prophet-motivated and had no mercy for others (Jonah 4:1-3).
Martha was server-motivated, but she couldn’t stop working long enough to worship Jesus when He came for a visit (Luke 10:41). The apostle Paul was teacher-motivated, as he wrote half of the New Testament epistles but commented he wasn’t the greatest speaker (1 Cor. 2:4). John was a mercy-motivated man saying he was the disciple that Jesus loved. Abraham was giver-motivated and ended up being very wealthy (Gen 13:2).
The wonderful part about this study is the revelation that God has specifically gifted all of us with a unique personality in order for us to fulfill His calling on our lives. God created us for a divine, earthly purpose and gave us the personalities we need to get the job done.
Psalm 139:14 says, “I will praise you, for You made me with fear and wonder; marvelous are Your works, and You know me completely.” God created you and equipped you with the personality He wanted you to have to accomplish His purpose on this earth. So stop doubting yourself! Stop wishing you had someone else’s personality.
You’ve been created by God for a divine purpose; find out what that is because your personality will be a perfect fit.
Steve Trexler is a minister and a writer for Kenneth Hagin Ministries in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Steve is the author of Gathering God’s Promises, Name Droppers and God’s Personality Test, all of which can be found at his website, fhctn.com. You may also contact Steve at [email protected].
