A Gospel Personality Test

Everyone at some point of their professional or academic lives have underwent some personality tests. Some known personality tests are Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, name it. But we are not here to know who you are under those tests, but to know who you are under the Gospel Personality Test. The New Testament has discussed the verse “…so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.” We are to discuss if we fit in to the criteria of this kind of personality and if we need to be or are these reserved alone for a handful few.

Serpents are considered to be cunning, slimy and scary animals. They have always been associated to evil, deception, or something very terrible as opposed to doves—which are known for love, innocence, purity, hope, faith, peace, and in biblical occurrence, it is the “Holy Spirit”. Even Harry Potter’s nemesis has a serpent as a sign of his evil destruction in the wizarding world. Ancient records also refer to serpents as a sign of evil such as Medusa in Greek mythology. In records, serpents or snakes are connected to evil, dark and emanates menace.

However, in the New Testament, Jesus emphasized on the good character of a serpent—it’s shrewdness. In the Old Testament, this was the creature used by the evil one to deceive Adam and Eve to disobey God—ergo, it used its shrewdness in a bad way. Although, in Biblical and theological perspective, Lucifer was once before an angel who was gifted with so much knowledge, shrewdness, but pride and disobedience and desire to be like God and more than God, led to his demise. We are taught that we are created out of the image and likeness of God, “b’tzelem Elohim” the Hebrew phrase for the “image of God” with “b’tzelem” as a root meaning “shadow” therefore interpreting its meaning as “us humans like the shadows that God casts on the world”. The divinity of our very being as God’s creation are reflected in this fleeting world.

This understanding will lead us that, although God’s creation has a shadow of himself in it, it has been gifted with freewill to choose between good and evil. That is why, Jesus did not say become like “serpents”, but instead just focused on the good quality of a serpent which is its shrewdness. All human beings, and creatures created by God have a capacity to do evil and have some tendencies in themselves that need to be pruned or eliminated. We were not born to be evil, but ignorance, circumstances, environment, and temptations have contributed for us to do or choose evil, but does not make of us evil beings in its entirety.

The gift of life, choices, grace, prayers of other people and ours, Christ’s redemptive act on the cross, miracles of everyday, preserve our souls to be totally condemned. As taught, as long as we are breathing, we have every ounce of capacity to make up for our sins and do penance here on earth or after until we are unblemished and ready to be with God.

The comparison of Jesus as a human being to become like these two extreme opposing animals is somewhat beguiling. Why would Jesus want us to be shrewd like serpents and simple as doves?

If we look at it, Jesus chose two animal’s good characteristics only. Simplicity or innocence are signs of humility and wisdom and the choice to be like a child, trusting in God fully. Mary, the mother of Jesus was simple and humble, innocent and pure, like a child she trusted God’s plan, and like a dove, “simply” accepted God’s will with all humility, thus emanating wisdom in the process. However, did she imbibe the shrewdness of a serpent?

What is it being shrewd anyway? According to its very definition from the time it was first used, in Middle English in the sense ‘evil person or thing’, or as the past participle of obsolete shrew ‘to curse’. The word developed the sense ‘cunning’, and gradually gained a favourable connotation during the 17th century. Originally it had a negative connotation, but now if we define it, it is known that a shrewd person has a strong sense of judgement and discernment on situations. It connotes cleverness, sharpness, and astuteness. If a person would choose from being called smart and shrewd, one would be clever enough to prefer the latter, for everyone can be smart, but not everyone can be shrewd. Having a keen and better judgment of situations and using it to your advantage and disadvantage including that of others, is an exceptional character reserved to businessmen.

On the theological perspective, I can compare it to the 13th encyclical letter “Fides et Ratio” or “Faith and Reason” by St. John Paul II, “Faith and reason are like two wings upon which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart the desire to know the truth — in a word, to know himself — so that by knowing and loving God, men and women can come to the fullness of the truth about themselves”. Being shrewd is human’s capacity to reason “cleverly”, but it is not enough to fit in to the criteria that of which every Christian is obligated to follow, to be “shrewd as serpents” for the command did not end there, but it continued to be “as simple as doves”, therefore, we need to have the innocence, humility, wisdom, purity of character as defined in doves. To have faith, is to have that innocence and simplicity like Mary who emanated her faith by trusting God’s will fully like a child. To become as shrewd as serpents and to be simple as doves is to use our gift of reason with our freewill to be innocent enough to believe in God and trust in Him in all things, so truth will be contemplated and reach its fullness. And what is the truth? Jesus is the truth, the way and the life.

Now the question is, do we fit in? do we need to be? Or are we part of the handful few? Your choice. (Ann Harb)