Why is charades fun? You could say, Well, it’s just funny. But let’s dig deeper. Why is it funny exactly? Part of it is in the gestures, the facial expressions—the physical actions. But a lot of the humor is in watching a person, a friend, a family member, behave in a way that you rarely—or maybe never—see.
Charades is fun because people behave publicly in ways they don’t normally behave. They have facial expressions, gestures and body language that they rarely share.
Charades has a way of peeling away the outward, superficial persona we can all carry—the too cool for school, the shyness, the What’s everyone going to think of me? A great game of charades—when there’s a positive energy and everyone is participating 100 percent—will overpower insecurities, inhibition and fear of embarrassment.
Charades can be great because it can unlock a person’s personality! And sharing our personality is important.
What Is Personality?
Dictionaries vary slightly, but they all basically define personality as the combination of characteristics that form an individual’s unique character.
There are hundreds of character traits that converge to form our personality—funny, serious, cheeky, playful, compassionate, kind, encouraging, calm, intense, patient, short-tempered, creative, cooperative, obstinate, dramatic, understated, forthright and candid, diplomatic, generous, imaginative, insightful, thoughtful, intuitive, optimistic and positive, negative, romantic, stoic, sophisticated—to name a few.
The American Psychological Association states: “Personality refers to the enduring characteristics and behavior that comprise a person’s unique adjustment to life, including major traits, interests, drives, values, self-concept, abilities, and emotional patterns. Various theories explain the structure and development of personality in different ways, but all agree that personality helps determine behavior” (emphasis added).
Man’s definitions are limited. They are extremely underwhelming and disappointing. We know that personality is a collection of characteristics distinctly manifested in every human being. But how does personality develop? What’s the purpose of personality? Why do humans have personality? Why did God give us individuality?
Christ tells us: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
What is this “light” that God wants us to shine? What are these “good works” that God wants us to do? The light is God’s way of life, His mind. “Works”—this is our behavior, our conduct, the way we interact with people.
The light—the works—comes through in our personality! Christ is saying, in part: Let your personality so shine before all men and give glory to God in heaven!
Herbert W. Armstrong said, “But God is Supreme Personality. Incidentally, God gave us personalities to develop. And they ought to be developed. And that is ability and power of expression and of influence, and we should develop it for right influence. We ought to develop those things.” God gives every human being the power of personality for the ultimate purpose of rightly influencing others!
God wants our personalities to be an expression of His love!
God wants your personality to be a tool in your bag—one of the main tools you have—for developing godly character; positively influencing people; serving and building the family of God; and, when you think about the meaning of Matthew 5, sharing the light of God with everyone that you come into contact with!
Power to Choose, Power to Use
Here’s a reality: If you’re human, then you have a personality! We don’t have a choice in the matter—you havea personality. You exhibit a collection of character traits, habits and interests that form your personality.
When it comes to personality, the choice isn’t between having one or not having one. The choice is really about the nature of your personality. What type of personality are you going to have? That’s a beautiful question—full of meaning and hope. Why? Because it implies individual choice. We’re not robots, pre-programmed to behavior a certain way. God empowers us! You can choose your personality type!
Sure, we might be predisposed to manifesting certain characteristics, mainly as a result of the environment we are raised in and the personalities that influence our lives. We might have a propensity toward certain personality traits and find it harder to exhibit others. But your personality is not pre-programmed. It’s not written into your dna. You have the choice—you can be bright and cheery and positive and kind and curious and friendly and playful and captivating! Or you can be negative, critical and mopy.
Mr. Armstrong wrote in a Good News: “Your personality is a power, if you develop and train it so as to charm, influence, persuade others rightly, to bring pleasure and encouragement and sunshine and inspiration to others, and to lead them as they ought to be led. Most people let their personalities stagnate. They never do one thing to improve or develop them—yet a charming captivating, and persuasive personality is one of the greatest forces for good with which an all-wise God endowed you” (Good News, Nov. 1951).
Note that—personality is “one of the greatest forces for good” that God gives us!
God is so generous and thoughtful that He not only gives us the power of personality, He says, I’m going to let you shape and mold and grow that power.
You, young people, are at the very beginning of your personality journey!
The further down the road you get, the harder and more uncomfortable it is to change your personality. The negative characteristics become more entrenched. And the positive characteristics aren’t developed to the extent they ought to be.
But you—you are still in the very early stages of your personality development! What kind of personality do you want? What unique collection of characteristics do you want?
No one asks this question—at school, at university, in the home and with the family. Most human beings give zero thought and attention to their personality, and how they want to shape their personality. Our personality is a colossal,central part of life—our happiness, our success on the job, in family, socially. It determines how we interact and connect with friends and family, how many friends we have, how close to them we are, how well-liked we are, what opportunities we have in life.
Yet we never give it any attention!
The decisions about your personality that you make today, and in the coming months and years, will lay the groundwork for your personality for the rest of your life!
You have character traits you can develop to positively influence others. It doesn’t matter how shy or insecure you might be or how inferior you feel at times. You have qualities and talents that are valuable to humanity and to the Family of God! Do you know what those characteristics are? Can you identify them?
Are you actively developing them to serve others, to serve God’s family? Are you working to conquer the negative characteristics? Are you working to develop new characteristics?
How much attention are you giving to your personality? Most of us probably never think about it—but now you know to think about it!
Value Variety
In 1 Corinthians 12, the Church is compared to a body comprised of unique parts, each with a different shape and function. There’s so much variety between all those parts—like there’s so much variety in God’s Church. Everyone has a unique personality. It can be so easy for this variety to divide us, to be a point of frustration, conflict and tension. Under the influence of the devil, this is the natural outcome. But in God’s Family, these differences in personality and experience are a point of unity and joy and appreciation!
Verses 12-13 read, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”
We all have the same ultimate goal, the same destiny, the same beliefs, the same Spirit working with us, the same Father, the same Church. We are united on all the most important and fundamental issues.
But we are a “peculiar people” (1 Peter 2:9)—we each have our own unique characteristics! We need to learn to embrace the peculiarities in God’s people, to appreciate all different personality type and traits. This doesn’t mean endorsing sin. Some traits are negative—hurtful, damaging, ungodly—but some traits are just unique.
Every single one of God’s people is fascinating! Every single one has something to offer the Church, something to enjoy and appreciate and admire.
Romans 2:11 tells us, “For there is no respect of persons with God.” We are God’s Family, and no matter who we are—what race or color—God the Father personally selected each one of us in His Church to be in the Family.
Every one of us is unique. There is no one like you! No one else who has ever lived is exactly like you. You don’t have to try being unique by copying or imitating fads someone else has invented. Be an individual in the right way. Let your own individuality develop within the guidelines of God’s laws.