Ennea-What?
That’s the response I get when I tell people that I want to write curriculum on the Enneagram. It sounds like some weird type of measurement. When I explain that it is a spiritual tool that analyzes sin natures, people still often still don’t get what that means or why it’s important, so I am going to set the record straight. I believe the Enneagram is going to revolutionize our generation’s spirituality. Because while we have personality tests like the Myers Briggs which are very helpful for self-awareness, the Myers Briggs only tells you how you do things, the Enneagram tells you why. It is this why question that intrigues me.
The dilemma we all start with is that we all have a basic need for God’s love, however, due to the Fall, we often lack our felt experience of it. While we know, mentally, that He loves us and wants the best for us, we instead look for love and safety in different things: idolatry.
That’s where our sin natures come in. Each of the seven deadly sins, as well as deceit and fear, are some form of idolatry. When we all try and earn love from people or achieve our own safety and happiness on our own strength, we are almost always acting in some form of wrath(Type 1), pride(Type 2), deceit(Type 3), envy(Type 4), greed(Type 5), fear(Type 6), gluttony(Type 7), lust(Type 8), or sloth(Type 9).
The concept of the Enneagram is that while we all fall into to each of these different sins, there is often one that stands out among the rest and this is our type. We are plagued by a tendency to compromise God’s love through a certain sin natures and awareness of this reality is the first step towards liberation.
Type 1 is the need to be perfect and, discovering that neither they nor anything else in their world is perfect, are tempted by self-righteous anger. A biblical example of this is Paul.
Type 2 is the need to be loved and needed, and their competence in making this happen sets them up for pride and entitlement. A biblical example for Twos is Martha.
Type 3 is the need to be successful and are tempted to deceit, as they do whatever they have to do to avoid failure and appear in the best possible light. A biblical example of this is Jacob.
Type 4 is the need to be special and are tempted toward envy, escapist fantasy and a compromise of authenticity. Joseph is a biblical example.
Type 5 is the need for knowledge and the longing for fulfillment, and are tempted by greed, stinginess, and critical detachment. Thomas is a good biblical example.
Type 6 is the need for security and are tempted by unhealthy fear, self doubt, and cowardice. A biblical example is Timothy.
Type 7 is the need to avoid pain and are tempted by gluttony and intemperance to create an environment with only pleasures. Solomon is a biblical example of this type.
Type 8 is the need for power, self-reliance, and opportunities to be against something for the purpose of avoiding weakness and protecting themselves, and are tempted by lust, arrogance, and the desire to possess and control others. Saul is a good illustration of this type.
Type 9 is the need to maintain emotional peace and avoid initiative and are tempted by laziness, comfortable illusions, and being overly accommodating. Jonah is a good example.
So what’s the point?
I’m glad you asked. Like I mentioned earlier, the Enneagram explains why we do things. Each of these sin natures show our inner motives for why we do the thing we do.
Have you ever done something bad and thought “where did that come from?” Most of the time we don’t really linger on this question, but we breeze past it with the renewed fervor that we just won’t do it again.
However, those question reveal the deep parts of our hearts. It is in these deep places that God want’s to be invited into. If we are not self-aware enough to identify the sinful parts of our hearts, how are we ever going to invite God in to do a work there?
It is exactly in the moments that I sin where I want to stop and pray, “God, I am so finite. Once again I have fallen into my flesh and tried to earn love from people through my accomplishments and successes (I’m a 3). Here and now, I receive your love that you give freely. Help me to be ever dependent on you and you alone.”
It is this awareness of ourselves that will breed true transformation. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says that we must take every thought captive. This includes the sinful ones. We may not like going there because of shame, but it only through letting God into our shame that we will experience his freedom. Looking back to the Garden of Eden, the origin of sin, we find Adam running away from God with his sin. This is the exact opposite of the relationship that Jesus invites us into. Let’s run to God with our sin and experience true transformation.
At the Fellowship, I hope to create a curriculum for the Enneagram so it can be brought into our churches, our ministries, and our lives, shaping the way that we view shame and sin, because it is through recognition of our sin that we experience grace abundant. You can read more about my dream with the Enneagram in my blog titled The Room, Electric Guitars, and a Wild Idea. If you would like to partner with my vision, please click the Support Me tab and donate toward what the Lord is doing in my life!
Also if you are interested in learning more about the Enneagram and your Type, then google the Enneagram institute online. It is a great resource for understanding more about our sin tendencies (at least until my curriculum comes out!).
Thank you!
