Emotions & Spirituality

Pastor Ken recently called our attention to the following thoughts on personality/emotions and spirituality from the book Mood Tides by Ron Horton. I've not read the book, but these thoughts are worth some consideration. (For a review of the book, see here.)

"Evidently God has created emotional differences because He enjoys variety and also because He has different things for His different creatures to do.... The most widely gifted can show only poorly the rich diversity of the divine personality revealed in the Savior. The best each of us can hope to achieve is a faithful but partial revelation of the Person of our Lord. Together we can more fully show that Person.... By the composite witness of their characters and personalities--their unity within multiplicity--the world would receive a more comprehensive and compelling account of the Person of God.

"It follows that we must be prepared to recognize what might be called different styles of spirituality. There is an unfortunate tendency to identify true spirituality with certain personality types. An extrovert may associate vital spirituality with social energy and earnestness--with the Peter or Martha personality. These outgoing types can project a vibrant, dynamic public witness of Spirit-empowered character and can be greatly used of God in an expansive way. A more reticent, reflective Christian may associate spirituality with a richly developed inner life centering on God and with sensitivity to others' needs--with the John or Mary personality. The inward type can be used no less powerfully by God, but likely in a more intensely focused way. Its deep fervencies, like Hannah's, can be easily misjudged (1 Sam. 1:12-14).

"Each temperamental type has its strengths and weaknesses, and neither should be valued above the other. Nor should they be seen as mutually exclusive. There will be a devotional core to the most outgoing of spiritual lives and a cordial openness to the most introverted when each has reached maturity in Christ. Even so, natural temperament will have an influence on spiritual manner, and this is good. The work of God would not flourish so well if all dispositions were the same" (182-84).