Spiritual Health and Wholeness with the Enneagram
Valerie shares how we can use the Enneagram for spiritual and emotional health and wholeness.
Have you heard of the enneagram? I first heard about it at a Christmas party. I was intrigued by everyone laughing and joking about their “number.” Soon after that party, I took assessments, bought books, and listened to podcasts about this ancient tool used for self-awareness. Many years later, I am excited to have been learning how the enneagram is a valuable tool for spiritual formation, leading to health and wholeness.
Before I start, I want to let you know that if you are a Christian and are against the Enneagram, I am not here to talk you into liking it. If you are here today to learn all the ins and outs of this tool, that is not what you will find here. (But I do want to encourage you to investigate.) If you are here to learn some basics about how the Enneagram, appropriately used, can help you grow in knowledge about yourself, help you grow closer to Jesus, and help you show empathy, compassion, and love to others, then please keep reading.
As I mentioned, the Enneagram is a tool. It is not a necessary resource for humans to flourish. It cannot transform you into Christ-likeness. God does the transforming. A.J. Sherrill, author of The Enneagram for Spiritual Formation, writes, “...as a tool, it has proven to be incredibly useful in revealing what motivates our behavior as humans and in showing whether our choices are leading to health and wholeness.”
Here, we are going to take a brief look at how understanding your number or type can help you to 1) learn more about yourself, 2) grow closer to Jesus, and 3) learn to love others in a more like Jesus does
How The Enneagram Can Help You Learn About Yourself
Once you discover your number, you will find that your personality type has strengths and weaknesses, a core fear, a core desire, and more. In discovering your number, you can learn how you operate in health and unhealth. With this information, you can learn what changes will help you move toward health and wholeness.
For instance, I learned I am a 2w1 (Two, wing One). A two is most commonly called the Helper and is in the heart triad. A Two is often described as loving, caring, and a befriender. Strengths of Twos include being thoughtful, self-sacrificing, and generous. Weaknesses of Twos include neglecting their own needs, being manipulative to get their needs met, and being passive-aggressive when unappreciated.
In learning about myself, I can learn how to make different choices that move me into health and wholeness and closer to the person God intended me to be: the person who is secure in God’s unshakeable love.
How the Enneagram Can Help You Grow Close to Jesus
The Enneagram shows us our core fear, desire, weakness, and longing in each type. When we know ourselves, we can better appreciate how God made us and ask him to help us with our weaknesses, fears, desires, and longing. The goal is to have these areas of our life more in line with his originally intended design for us as image bearers of God. The Enneagram gives us a roadmap to where we need God’s healing most.
As Christian leaders are experiencing the Enneagram as a helpful tool in Christian life, more and more resources are being made available that pair up specific spiritual practices and scriptures to aid in healthy spiritual formation.
For instance, Ones struggle with the need to be perfect and right. Scripture that may be helpful to meditate on would include Romans 5:8, “..but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” and Romans 8:1, “Therefore there is now no condemnation in Christ Jesus.” Spiritual practices particularly helpful for Ones include walks in nature and abandoning outcomes to God.
In learning more about myself and God, I can grow closer to Jesus, growing in my understanding of his love for me, my love for him, and my love for others.
How the Enneagram Can Help You Love Others Like Jesus
Learning to love like Jesus is a lifetime endeavor. God is working in us to form us to be a blessing to and for the sake of others. On the path to loving others like God are characteristics such as compassion and empathy. When we understand how people with each of the nine numbers approach life with their core fears, desires, longings, and weaknesses, we can be more understanding, compassionate, and empathetic. We can grow in a greater appreciation of our fellow man; each image bearers of God, with their specific struggles and needs.
This tool can improve our relationships at home, work, and church. With this tool, we can intentionally communicate with one another with each person's type (number) in mind.
When we have a basic understanding of another’s core weakness, fear, desire, and longing, we can be more patient and understand how they approach life.
Further Resources
I hope you can see what a valuable tool the Enneagram can be. Of course, like anything else, it needs to be used in a way that brings health and wholeness and is not abused to bring hurt and pain. It is a tool that can be just fun and interesting, but it can also help you thrive in your relationships. It is a tool that can lead to a life filled with more peace and less stress.
If you want to learn more, I have listed several of my favorite books below, describing their particular focus. I hope you will find one (or two!) that will help you along your journey.
Healthy Feelings, Thriving Faith by Bill and Kristi Gaultiere — This is my newest enneagram book, written by the founders of Soul Shepherding, where I am receiving my Spiritual Direction training. As the title says, this book shows you ways to grow emotionally and spiritually through understanding the Enneagram. It is so well organized, practical, and easy to read.
The Enneagram for Spiritual Formation by AJ Sherrill — This book shows you how knowing ourselves can make us more like Jesus. This book helps show the reader how their personality type shapes their faith journey.
The Complete Enneagram by Beatrice Chestnut — This was my first book on the Enneagram, and as the title states, it is complete and thorough. If you want to be more of an Enneagram expert, this may be the book for you. The book includes topics you don't find everywhere, such as information about subtypes and antitypes. Clear and comprehensive.
Becoming Us by Beth & Jeff McCord — Gospel-centered and focused on the marriage relationship, this book is very practical and thorough in helping you understand how to better be in a relationship with another number. It benefits those with marriage in the near future or those who have been married for decades.
The Enneagram in Love and Work by Helen Palmer — This is not a book that I have read cover to cover. Still, it has been constructive and insightful, particularly in helping me understand better the dynamics of working relationships. It is excellent for those who are in leadership or who work in team environments.
Being intentional to take the time to learn about yourself and others for the Kingdom of God is time well spent. I hope what you learn will be as helpful in everyday life as it has been for me.