What fictional characters do you relate to as an ISTJ?
Just as we can describe real people using the Myers-Briggs® typology system, we can also use the system to type well-written fictional characters. Some of fiction’s most iconic and intriguing characters are ISTJs, and today we’re going to talk about seven of them that I think real-life ISTJs will find relatable.
Another great thing about looking at character personality types is that it helps us to better understand people who have different types than we do. Fictional ISTJs can serve as examples for what real-life ISTJs might be like, and also show how much variation can exist between individuals with the same type.
Bathsheba Everdene
Thinking-type heroines are a pretty rare thing in fiction, especially in older stories. But the heroine of Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd (1874) is one of the rare examples. Bathsheba Everdene didn’t really capture my attention when I first read the book, but in hindsight she’s one of the more unique female characters in classic British fiction. I also liked her in the 2015 film version.
The key to having intimacy with the Lord is to understand his kindness. That’s a statement the Rabbi at a Messianic congregation said in a two-part message called “The Mystery of Kindness” and “The Mystery of Chesed,” and I’ve been thinking about it quite a bit lately.
Chesed is a Hebrew word for goodness, mercy, kindness, and faithfulness. It’s often translated “loving kindness” when used of God, and it’s one of the key attributes of His character. He is “Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth” (Ex. 34:6, WEB).
This sort of kindness is something God wants to be known for because it’s a core part of His being. As Christians, we’re supposed to develop His character in us as we “put on Christ” (Rom. 13:14; Gal. 3:27). In order to become like Him, we need to understand who He truly is and that includes an understanding of His chesed.
The Ways God Knows Us
God knows our hearts even better than we know ourselves. He has “searched me and known me.” He knows when I sit down and when I stand up. He knows all my thoughts, my ways, and my words (Ps. 139:1-4). And He knows all of you that way as well because He searches the depths of our hearts.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it? I, Yahweh, search the mind, I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. (Jer. 17:9-10, WEB)
God can see and understand us thoroughly all the time. He knows everyone on earth that way. But there are some people that He also knows in a closer, more personal way. He calls those people His friends. If we want to be friends of God a change is required in our hearts. We have to become like God to know God.
The Lord described King David as “a man after my heart, who will do all my will” (Acts 13:22, WEB). He’s one of the examples given in scripture for us to look to and learn how to have a heart like God’s heart. One of the ways that David’s God-like heart showed up was in his kindness.
David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, “Blessed are you by Yahweh, that you have shown this kindness to your lord, even to Saul, and have buried him. Now may Yahweh show loving kindness and truth to you. I also will reward you for this kindness, because you have done this thing. (2 Sam. 5-6, WEB)
Even though Saul persecuted David, David still respected his position as king and mourned when Saul died. And instead of punishing those who honored Saul with a proper burial, the new king commended them for their kindness and showed kindness to them in return. He didn’t stop there either.
David said, “Is there yet any who is left of Saul’s house, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (2 Sam. 9:1, WEB)
After locating Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, David had him brought to the palace.
David said to him, “Don’t be afraid of him; for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your father. You will eat bread at my table continually.” (2 Sam. 9:7, WEB)
The Lord’s Kindness
David showed this sort of kindness — chesed — because he’d learned it first-hand from God. He’s the one who wrote, “loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life,” which we talked about a couple weeks ago. Since it was such a big part of David’s faith, Yahweh’s loving kindness is a frequent theme in his psalms.
All the paths of Yahweh are loving kindness and truth to such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. (Ps. 25:10, WEB)
But I will sing of your strength. Yes, I will sing aloud of your loving kindness in the morning. For you have been my high tower, a refuge in the day of my distress. (Ps. 59:16, WEB)
Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. (Ps. 63:3, WEB)
Yahweh is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness. (Ps. 103:8, WEB)
The Lord even showed kindness to David after he committed adultery and murder (2 Sam. 11:1-12:13; Ps. 51:1). The Law demanded a death penalty for both those sins, but in this case the Lawgiver decided to show kindness the same way He would in the future as Jesus Christ. The Lord knew that David, as a man after God’s own heart, would repent and change if given the opportunity. David got to taste the Lord’s gracious kindness even before Messiah came to earth (Ps. 34:8; 1 Pet. 2:3-4).
David’s son Solomon also recognized the importance of chesed. He wrote, “The merciful man does good to his own soul” and, “He who follows after righteousness and kindness finds life, righteousness, and honor” (Prov. 11:17; 21:2, WEB). Not only does being kind mean we’ll be good to others, but it is also good for us as well.
Don’t let kindness and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor, and good understanding in the sight of God and man. (Prov. 3:3-4, WEB)
We need to have kindness written in our hearts to make our hearts like God’s. This happens when the Spirit of God dwells in us.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22-25, WEB)
God reveals Himself through His spirit (1 Cor. 2:6-16). That’s how He shares His heart and mind with us, and transforms our hearts and minds to be like His. Our “fleshiness” can get in the way of this if we’d let it, but we don’t have to. Walking in the spirit is a choice that God, in His kindness, empowers us to make. We can know Him intimately and learn His kindness just as David did.
I’m getting so tired of Christians mocking the idea of climate change on the basis that God is in control and it’s arrogant to think that we can affect His world. Some of the people most vocally against any efforts to care for our planet are the ones who believe it is a gift from a benevolent creator!
I suppose part of the reason for this is political. In the United States, we’ve turned environmental concerns into a partisan issue and since most Christians are Right-leaning they certainly can’t support any idea associated with the Left. Personally, I find this whole thing ridiculous. Not only should our planet’s health concern everyone, but as Christians we’re not supposed to get so involved in worldly affairs that we can only listen to one side of an issue like this. Rather, we’re called to be citizens of a heavenly country with priorities that transcend political parties.
Another reason for the argument that we can do whatever we want to the earth has to do with God’s words in Genesis. “God said to them [Adam and Eve], ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Gen. 1:28, WEB). The word “subdue” comes from the Hebrew kabash (H3533) and it means to subject, conquer, keep under, and bring into bondage.
But there’s also something else that God told man about how to deal with the earth. “Yahweh God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it” (Gen. 2:15, WEB). The word translated “cultivate” (abad H5647) refers to working and serving. The word for “keep” is shamar (H8104), and it’s about guarding something you have charge over. It’s what you do when something is precious and requires careful attention. For example, it’s the word used when Israel is told to keep God’s covenant and sabbaths (Ex. 19:5; 31:13-14) and when God is described as keeping/preserving His people (Ps. 37:28; 89:28).
I’m pretty sure that if we were keeping the earth in this sense we wouldn’t be filling it with trash or spewing toxic chemicals all over it.
The Principle of Stewardship
You might argue that we weren’t explicitly told to “keep” the whole earth — that this instruction only applied to Adam and Eve’s responsibilities in the Garden of Eden. So let’s go back to that word “subdue.” I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that once you subdue something what you do with it is your responsibility. And the Bible is pretty clear about how we’re supposed to care for the things we’re responsible for.
He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? (Luke 16:10-12, WEB)
The earth will be here for as long as God needs/wants it to be. But the condition that it’s in until He decides to bring this world to a close with the return of Jesus Christ is, at least to a certain extent, our responsibility. We’ve been given this earth to look after, but it does not belong to us. “The earth is Yahweh’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell therein” (Ps. 24:1, WEB). He care about how we take care of it because our attitude toward caring for things on this earth (including the earth itself) tells Him something about our character. It tells us whether or not He can trust us with eternal life.
Getting Started
We can’t do much to improve the health of the planet on our own. Many environmental problems are related to things outside our control. But the fact that other people, companies, or countries aren’t acting as responsible stewards of the planet doesn’t let us off the hook for our individual contributions. Using less plastic, foregoing toxic chemicals, and choosing products that can be reused instead of thrown away are choices we each have the power make.
I’ve been using Pinterest to collect tips, products, and articles related to living in a more environmentally responsible way. You can check that out here if you’re looking for ideas on how to get started on your own quest to be a better steward of God’s world.
I’ve been informally studying the Myers-Briggs® typology system for about 10 years now, but for most of that time I still felt confused about the difference between Sensing and Intuition. Though I’m usually pretty good at seeing things from other people’s perspectives as an INFJ, I’d have a hard time understanding Sensors. I had good friendships with Sensing types, and I’d protest when people in the Intuitive community spread hurtful myths about Sensors, but I got stuck explaining the exact difference between the two.
I think this is a problem that quite a few of us face. For myself and many others who I’ve talked with online, the Sensing/Intuitive dynamic is even harder to figure out than Introvert/Extrovert, Thinking/Feeling, or Judging/Perceiving. Someone who doesn’t share our S/N preference seems even less “like us” than those who don’t match on the E/I, T/F, or J/P. Our preference for Sensing or Intuition influences us, and how we relate to others, so much that most typologists say you should only date or marry someone who matches your S/N preference.
Of course, type isn’t really a good predictor of romantic happiness and many couples (including INFP Isabel Myers and her ISTJ husband) are quite happy without matching on S/N. So maybe it’s not a good idea to just assume Sensors and Intuitive can’t understand each other. Perhaps what we really need is a better grasp of the real difference between Sensing and Intuition and a commitment to using that understanding to appreciate the strengths and differences of each type. (more…)
How many times can God forgive you? I think sometimes we might feel there’s a limit, or that God gets tired of “dealing with” us. We might even think that someday He could just give up on us if we can’t get ourselves straightened out fast enough. But what does the Bible say?
It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Yahweh is my portion, says my soul; therefore will I hope in him. (Lam. 3:22-24, WEB)
This doesn’t mean God winks at sin or thinks it’s not a big deal. “The compensation due sin is death,” and without His mercies we would be finished (Rom. 6:23, LEB). But the mercies don’t run out. Each morning we have a chance to walk with Him, repenting of past wrongs, letting Him work in our lives to make us like Him, and trusting in his loving kindness, compassion, and faithfulness to lead us into a hopeful future.
God Doesn’t Remove His Mercies
Our sins can separate us from God if we refuse to turn from them (Is. 59:2). When we choose to do things in a way that doesn’t line up with God’s way of life, we’re walking away from him. It’s unfaithful, like a wife cheating on her husband. But, unlike many human spouses who’ve been cheated on, God keeps asking us to come back. (more…)
We tend to think of our memories as pretty reliable things. We might joke about how forgetful we are, but when we do remember something we assume that it’s accurate.
I was 12 years old on September 11, 2001 and I vividly remember hearing about the terrorist attack. I was in our family minivan with my mother, sister, and little brother when the news came over the radio. I wasn’t quite sure what had happened, and was more worried that my mother was going to drive into another car on the crowded in-town roads because she was so upset. We continued on to the roller skating rink where we’d been heading, skated for a while, and then stopped when the announcement went out over the loudspeaker. Several people gathered together to pray, but we stayed off to one side praying just as a family. I felt scared, confused, and very alone.
That’s probably not what actually happened, though. Another thing I remember is starting a diary because I was sure that this was such a pivotal turning point in our nation’s history that decades from now some historian would care about what I wrote. I can’t find that diary anywhere, so I have no way to compare my memories now against what I recorded back then. But if I’m anything like other people, then only a little over 50% of these details I remember are accurate. (more…)
