Knowing Ourselves Better

Personalities, everyone has one.  Some are outward bound.  Some are inward bound.  Some are funny. Some are serious.  Some are witty. Some are nerdy.  It takes all kinds of personalities to make this world the wonderful place to live that it is.  Sometimes, however, we think our personality is the standard to live by and other personalities are judged on that measuring stick.
When my wife and I were in preaching school and looking into the possibility of joining a mission team we took a personality test, of sorts.  It was actually a spiritual gifts test.  But it revealed certain things about our other teammates that maybe we didn’t know.  It also revealed a sense of sympathy in me toward some of the teammates because I could now understand them better and they me.  It also uncovered an excitement in knowing some of the teammates were very similar.  This brings us to this week’s quote…

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.  ~Carl Jung

WOW! When you look into the lives of others you get to know something deeper than you ever knew before.  You may be able to see the miles they’ve been through.  Which brings the trials and victories they’ve encountered.
You may be one that is quick to assess someone based on how they are acting.  Maybe there are times you feel “above” someone or times you feel “below” someone.  Either case can cause you to be “irritated” with them for one reason or another.
May your interactions with others not lead you to make a judgment, but rather may you be moved to understand yourself a bit more.

For a little extra, read this verse (just click) and see how it fits in to today’s quote Luke 18:9-14