Psyche Profiles: Who Are You?

Although I do not lend an inordinate amount of credence to psychological profiling based on secular constructs, I do have to comment on a recent psyche profile I went through last week for an employer. 

I took a psyche profile for my employment at Mack Trucks (10) ten years ago when I was an unbeliever and did not have Christ in me. It was obvious He wasn't in me either. The profile said I was aggressive, alpha male and that I had a dominant control oriented personality...(i.e.: a control freak). In other words, according to Mack's management, I was suitable to Mack management in general. lol. What it failed to tell people is that I was also megalomaniacal (a psycho-pathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of power, relevance, and/or omnipotence) and also prone to occasional outbursts of lunacy which is synonymous with believing a person can be omnipotent. I had an uncontrolled and inflated sense of self-esteem and overestimation of my powers and beliefs...it's called narcissistic personality disorder. Luckily it is not classified in the DSM-IV, so that made it culturally acceptable and, well, normal. At the time I thought all these characteristics were good things. This is the problem with gauging ourselves by the world's standards. They are flawed and change constantly. Man by his very nature is a capricious being and prone to jerky movement and fits and starts like an ill-tuned engine. I now realize how reprobate I was. It comes as a shock and in stark contrast to 30 year old Andy, when I took a new psyche profile for a new employer today for the 42 year old Andy and I got the following results ten years on…

“Andy, you have a very strong desire to help eliminate pain and conflict in the world, even to the point of personally taking on the pain of others. You will tend to give freely of your time, talent and resources expecting little or nothing in return.”

“You have chosen a system for living that you believe in. All of the decisions in your life are made according to the principles of your system. Your principles mean more to you than money or success. Others may feel you impose your standards on the rest of the world and may see you as being judgmental. They may think you exhibit a "holier than thou" mindset. They may believe you are closed-minded”

The first question I have to ask myself is this: Are the people that host this profiling sure that they have my profile? Geeeeezzz. If I had read these less than a decade ago I would’ve thought I was reading a stranger’s psychological profile. They almost seem absurd. Life is strange. Reality in this case is stranger still. I apologize if this sounds too much like I am "blowing my own horn" but the stark contrast of what I was and what I am becoming has me in disbelief. To think this is caused by grace through faith makes it that much more amazing still. I was very few of these things a decade ago. To really appreciate how radical these statements are that you are reading, you really need to appreciate just how different I use to me. I was a vain and prideful man. Radical and extreme most certainly describes the change. I know for a fact that it had nothing to do with something that I did. It is the work of Christ Jesus in me through the Holy Spirit. There is no other way these things could be possible.

It then moves on to miscellaneous bullets points and they are as follows.

• Team approach to task completion
• Being obliging and accommodating
• Leadership by example
• Sincere approach to helping others.
• Limited confrontation
• Concerned with how other people feel
• Tangible results although some tasks may be repetitive
• Sincere approach to helping others.
• Logical approach without ignoring people’s needs.
• Coaching, teaching and counseling is a strong point.
• Reflective approach to work activities
• Ability to instinctively notice and respond to people in need.
• He will have a keen interest in improving the whole of society.
• Eliminating conflict in the world is one of Andrew's passions.
• He has the ability to be empathetic toward those who are hurting.
• He will not use money as a scorecard to impress others.
• Overemphasizing the value of money will bore Andrew and turn him off.
• He will not be swayed or motivated by what he feels are excessive material goals.
• There is not a tremendous need for Andrew to have great sums of money.
• Being steady and consistent approach to work tasks.
• Systematic guidelines and a deliberate approach to problem-solving.
• Accuracy and adherence to standards and procedures.
• He’s motivated by internal beliefs & isn’t compelled to impress others with material things.
• He'll have causes that cannot be won, satisfying his inner need for peace. Even if the cause cannot be won, he will still be compelled to try.

These comments about me would've been laughable to those that knew me before and probably to a few even now (including me). I sit here looking at this stuff and wonder where it came from. Having read the Bible quite a bit, I know where this stuff comes from so I tell you now.

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister." ~ 1 John 4:7-21

It is Jesus Christ and not I.