This podcast is part of our series “Honest to God: The Bible, The Enneagram, and Why you do the things you do” Today we explore the Peacemaker, a way of being in the world that has many good attributes and a strong need to avoid conflict. We turn to the story of Jonah as a helpful example of this personality type and then turn to 1st Peter for beautiful helpful words for those who are wired this way.

A few key points about the Enneagram Model

• None of the 9 Personality types is “Better” or “Worse” than any other
• Each Personality Type tends toward particular: Gifts & Talents, Needs & Desires, Sins & Fears, Ways we like to do life, unhealthy Temptations
• It can be shaming or liberating to discover your Personality type
• There is a range from healthy to unhealthy forms of every Personality type  and we can go from one extreme to the other on a daily basis
• Take this model with a grain of salt, and focus on “Why do I behave the way I do?”
• My Goal: To love God & neighbor better – with my kind of crazy

Summary of the Peacemaker Pesonality Type

The need to avoid               
Self Image: “I am content” 
Core Desire: To be loved, to be at peace
Core Fear: loss and separation   
 Wants to avoid: Conflict
Classic Statement: “I don’t know, where do you want to go?”
Primary Temptation: belittling themselves
Root sin: laziness

Peacemakers feel a need for Peace and Harmony and want things (events, people, processes) to run as Smoothly as possible, and without Conflict.  They tend to checkout to insulate themselves from threats to their peace of mind.  As a result nines tend to have problems with Complacency, Reluctance, and Stubbornness

1 Peter 5:7-11

7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

STEPS A “PEACEMAKER” CAN TAKE:

1.  Remember what feels like intense, terrible conflict to you might just be a typical disagreement for someone else.  Take a breath and engage
2. Practice saying no when someone asks you to do something you don’t want to do.
3. Be aware of the numbing strategies you use to avoid having to deal with life, whether that’s a glass of wine, or shopping, or Girl Scout cookies
4. Journal on the questions “What is my calling or life’s program >  Am I pursuing it or postponing it to keep the peace ?
5. Ask someone to help you find a task-management or to-do system to help you stay on task.
   
   

This series draws heavily from “The Road Back to You” by Cron and Stabile

Video Credit: The Coaching Room – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-sXmZTeB7U
Music Credit: Star Trek Deep Space Nine Beyond the Stars
For more resources, go to www.Leverington.org