Different Personalities
1 Kings 18: 1-4
“After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land."
So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria, and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of his palace. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the LORD).
While Jezebel was killing off the LORD's prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.”
We begin to compare and contrast two prophets of God, both devout believers in the LORD, Elijah and Obadiah. Both were serving the Lord in different ways. Both were used of God to accomplish His purposes, but they were far different people.
God uses different personalities to accomplish different tasks. Not everyone comes from the same mold. Elijah was the outdoor type. He was rugged, comfortable being alone, strong in his convictions, and a confronting personality.
Obadiah was quiet. He was an urban person who worked with those who held different convictions and beliefs. He did not food of the wilderness but from the plates of the palace.
He faced challenges living in an environment hostile to the Lord. In his quiet manner he secretly cared for a hundred prophets, hiding them in caves and providing food and water.
We do not have to be like others in personality traits be used of God in unique ways. There are people who are more introverted and others more extraverted. They approach life differently because of their personalities.
Sometimes in marriage counseling I will give a temperament analysis test where couples can better see how they compare with their partner in important areas of life. It is easy to expect someone to understand us and be more like us, but we operate out entirely different personalities. The more obvious includes one focuses on details, but the other focuses on the bigger picture.
In one class at school, we looked at the differences between managers and leaders. Few people can do both well. A leader is one who is creative, a dreamer, a visionary, who can inspire, get listeners and followers. He/she is a trailblazer and can challenge people to new and exciting things. They get into trouble for ignoring details as to how to carry out plans. They can offend others by being task oriented, ignoring the needs of those around them.
Another personality characteristic is being a manager. This is an administrator type. One who has more concern for detail. He/she prefers to have answers before he starts projects. They need not only to see the big picture, but how to get there. They anticipate the obstacles and issues that might be faced and are more cautious to risk.
The first may challenge faith to raise the money and call people to move on and see how God works; the latter will want to see the money raised and plans in place before decisions are made. It is hard for them to see the other’s point of view. Elijah was definitely a leader. Obadiah was definitely a manager. Some of the conflicts we face in church or at home come from failing to see how God created personalities different from ours.
As you are about your activities, don’t judge those different from you in personality, but see the importance of the balance each brings to a relationship. Seek to understand yourself and others. Be willing to admit some people will not change the basic ways they are wired, but can learn how to cooperate with others with different personalities by God’s grace.
