The Advocate

   If you know me, you know I enjoy taking personality quizzes. Also, because I am a teacher, I like to get to know others and their personalities. That may be why I ask my family and friends to take many random quizzes like "what Disney Princess are you?" I really like Disney, can you blame me? ;)
   One quiz I took in high school and college was the Jung personality test. I enjoyed taking that test because it told me about the way I work. Through the years I have taken that quiz many times; though people say your personality doesn't change mine tends to go back and forth between 2 personalities. The most common personality type I get is INFJ. I typically take this test on the 16 personalities website. Recently, that website put names with each of the personalities. Mine is called the advocate.

   This got me thinking about how Jesus is our advocate. 1 John 2:1-2 says: "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." How does Jesus relate to the advocate personality? I'm glad you asked.
   People with the INFJ personality connect easily with others. That is because they speak in human terms rather than in logical ones. Looking at the Bible we see that Jesus differentiated how he spoke to people based off of the peoples' education. Most of the time he was speaking to people who were not educated. Jesus told these people Parables that they could relate to. Does that mean he told the people exactly what they needed to know in plain terms? No, he wanted people to think and seek him. Jesus did make it easy for people to understand the principles he wanted to get across because he used stories they would understand.
   Another strength the advocate has is they are altruistic. I mean, just look at what Jesus did for us. Even while he was on earth, Jesus did not really do much for himself. He went far distances and sometimes went without food just so he could tell others about how they could be saved. Then he completed the greatest act of unselfishness: he died for us. He did not die for himself, he died for us.
   According to the website previously mentioned, a weakness of the advocate is they can burn out easily. This is the dark side when it comes to unselfishness. Jesus was human while on earth. He completed so many acts that many of us may have been done after his first month of teaching. However, Jesus knew that it was important to rest. Go figure, God gave us a day of rest and he knows the importance of resting. :D Jesus spent time resting, praying, and walking with God. That's how Jesus avoided burn out. He knew he needed to step back sometimes and rejuvenate.
   Advocates are loyal friends. No matter how many times we fall away from God Jesus calls us back to him and accepts us when we return to him. He also wants to see us grow in him. He sees our potential and who we can become. He wants to help us grow into that person.
   Finally, the advocate sees subordinates as equals in the workplace. Wait, Jesus sees us as equals?! How can we be his equal? He is God. Yeah, we definitely are not his equal in that way but Romans 8:17 says: "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." We get the same inheritance Christ has: we get to have eternal life. We get to go to heaven. You may be saying, "sweet, I accepted Christ so I'm going to heaven to get my inheritance no matter what I do." There's a catch. 

   According to this verse we need to share in his sufferings.  Advocates expect workers to be as motivated and reliable as they are. In short we are to act like Jesus. How can we act like Jesus? He is God and he is perfect. That does not mean we are to be perfect. It just means we are to try and be like him. Jesus knows we will not be perfect, that's why he died on the cross, and because he loves us. We just have to continue to grow in him and try to be like him.
   Why does it matter that the advocate personality sounds a lot like Jesus? It matters because without Jesus having these attributes we would not be saved. Why should you care about these personality types? It helps you know yourself and others, which is what Jesus calls us to do. He calls us to love others which means getting to know them.
   So, do you know how important it is for Jesus to be your advocate? How can you grow in Jesus?

   How can you use personality types to show love to others?

   Image from here.