What is the Biblical definition of personality?

Here it is, sweet and short.  I cannot find one.  And that is not because I have not been looking and asking around -- for years, as a matter of fact.  It was a question I had back in the 60's while working on my BS in psychology.  I have heard Christians use the term as though they knew something about which they were talking, but whenever I would press them to the wall for a definition, their arguments turned to Jell-O.  And for a good reason I think.

Personality is a term we use to label a "construct."  Put a bit too simply, a construct is a hypothetical trait, concept, model, or schematic idea which researchers create and use as a tool to describe some "thing" they observe in human behavior for which they are a bit unclear.  Self esteem is another example of a construct.

When we use the term "personality," we are referring to some package of traits we observe that makes one person different from another, and also organizes people into groups which share certain common traits.  We use the term personality so casually that it appears that we all know what it is, but give ten people a sheet of paper and pencil with which they write down just what personality is, and you will end up with ten rather useless descriptions of it.  We all know what it is, but just cannot define it.  Well, psychologists and researchers are in the same boat, so they resort to creating a construct in order to study it and make some sense of it.  And, strange as it might sound, this approach works!  Here's how.

Let's say you are a researcher/psychologist who has observed some "thing" that seems to present itself differently in the way people relate to groups.  Some seem to seek out and be energized by groups, others seem to avoid and tire in them.  You cannot put your finger on it, but you know there is something there to study.  So, you create hypothetical traits, let's call them "introversion" and "extraversion."  Now, they are your created constructs, so you get to define them anyway that makes sense to you, and then formulate a way to measure them.  You interview folks in both groups, asking lots of questions which you refine with experience to the point that you can now ask these questions to most any individual and determine by his or her answers how that person might react in a group environment.  And wouldn't you know, it works.  You are able to predict with amazing accuracy how these folks will behave.

You could publish your work, claiming that you have discovered a "personality trait," introverted vs. extraverted!  But as you are about to go to press, someone pulls you aside and gently points out that your two constructs are nothing more than evidence of how two older Greek constructs of personality, sanguine and phlegmatic, would predict how people might act in a group setting.  So who is right?  Well, you both are.  How can this be?

The theorists who described personality back in Greek times, believed that behavior was controlled by four body fluids, each producing a distinct behavior pattern.  Sanguine and phlegmatic, were two constructs used back then to label two sets of quite different behaviors.  This theory of personality might be useful to you if, let us say, you are making up a list of guests for a party and you want to ensure that it will be a lively, noisy, fun loving party by including mostly sanguine type people rather than phlegmatic ones.  The current theorists who believe personality is a grouping of "preferred" behaviors, are comfortable using constructs like introversion and extraversion.  Using the more modern constructs of introversion and extraversion would not cut it for your party list as there are some very fun loving (sanguine) introverts, and some very argumentative extraverts.  You could have a nightmare of a party if you thought extraverts would be the ticket to your party goal, and introverts would be counterproductive.  But, if you were entertaining a new client for a big contract, you might really profit by knowing whether he or she is introverted or extraverted.  Invite an introvert to a large gala of your employees and you might find that he or she is in no mood to talk business and wants to huddle with just one or two or leave early.  Invite an extravert to a meeting with one or two employees, and you might find him or her tiring easily.  (I am exaggerating outcomes here just a bit to make a point.)

So, personality is itself a construct which reflects the theorists' focus of concern.  There are many "personality" tests on the market, and each yields valid information within the particular construct upon which it is based.  To determine which test you might use, you first need to know what questions the construct attempts to answer.  If they are the same questions you have, then it might be the right test for you.

The Bible does not seem to delve into personality, and I think for good reason.  When scripture refers to a person's bent or leaning or tendency, it specifies that rather than telling us that the person has a certain personality type.  Doing so prohibits us from predicting how that person might behave in different situations -- a goal of many who earnestly desire to have an integrated comprehensive personality nomenclature.  We all wish we could predict how others will react in every situation.  If we had the perfect personality typing system, all I would need to know about you is just one trait that would tell me which grouping you are in so that I could know how you will behave in every other situation because everyone in your group reacts the same.  By staying away from this, the Bible makes it impossible to put folks in to a box and know all there is to know about them without knowing them.  It effectively prohibits me from faulty assumptions about you and encourages me to respect you as an autonomous person.  It also promotes my ability to accept change in one specific area of your life without keeping you locked in to a set of predictable behaviors.  This alone has many ramifications.  It also means that God can change one aspect of me at a time without having to change all of me at once to become a different personality type.