I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I love to ponder the complexities of personality theory: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much do genetics or the environment determine personality? What personality tests are the most accurate?

I have taken pretty much every free personality test available online (and there are more than a few). I have also taken the official version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as part of one of my college psychology courses. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is purely based off my writing style and the personal information I've disclosed in my posts.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality; however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it's just more information I'm hoarding.

If personality tests weren't enough, we now have the more spiritual and Christian approved version: spiritual gifts inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I'm pretty sure I've taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their listing of gifts from Romans 12 (prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and mercy), 1 Corinthians 12 (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories also include other gifts referred to in miscellaneous places in scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few. What "gifts" should actually be included in spiritual gift inventories is debatable and perhaps a great topic to tackle at another point in time.

So, why all the buzz with spiritual gift inventories? Well, we all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way, and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise. If you haven't taken one, I highly suggest that you do. (If you google "spiritual gift inventory", you will find at least a couple free spiritual gifts tests.)

That being said, I have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as excuses. Do you want to act like a complete jerk? Claim you don't have a mercy gifting. Don't want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren't an evangelist. Don't want to tithe, give to the poor, or help someone in need? Claim you don't have the gift of giving. Don't want to serve others? Claim you don't have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.

Unfortunately, God calls us to do a lot of things, regardless of our individual spiritual gifts. If you think you can be a douche canoe to others just because you haven't been endowed with the supernatural gift of mercy, you may want to check out James 2:13: "Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment."  If you think lacking the spiritual gift of giving gets you off the hook for helping others, you may want to look at James 1:27: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." If you think that you can sit on your tookus all day long just because you don't have the gift of serving,  you might want to consider Jesus' words to the disciples in Luke 22: 25-27.

Perhaps the bigger issue is that we focus too much on ourselves, who we are, and what we are gifted at (or not gifted at). We place an inordinately high value and focus on the gifts, like those listed in 1 Corinthians 12, but forget what Paul said next:
<blockquote>"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px"> </span>but do not have love, I gain nothing."  1 Corinthians 13:1-3</blockquote>
Spiritual gifts, after all, aren't really gifts to keep for ourselves. God give these gifts to help serve, edify, and build up the other members of the Body of Christ.  To use your gifts, it certainly does help to actually understand and know what they are; the difficulty is finding a way to be self-reflective without being self-absorbed.

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