Case study-Luke from the Bible.

ISTJs are code-named the “LOGISTICIANS”, basically cluing us to the fact that they are great at logistics. They are practical, responsible individuals that have a rational perception of life. They are smart, dedicated, and have an old-fashioned way of thinking and principles alongside them. Famous ISTJs that you may know include Queen Elizabeth II, George Washington, Julia Roberts, George Bush, Warren Buffett, and Denzel Washington.
Luke is the case study for this group of people in the Bible. He was one of Jesus’ close friends and disciples. This article is to discover the traits in him that Jesus saw as useful for His ministry.

ISTJ BREAKDOWN

I-Introverted.
S-Sensing.
T-Thinking.
J-Judging

1.] INTROVERTED.

ISTJs like being by themselves most of the time. Socializing is important to them but so is recharging alone. They like having the time to plan things that need to get done and look at the gaps in their lives or projects and where they need fixing so that they can execute when they decide to get back to society.

2.] SENSING.

ISTJs are very observative. Their keen attention to detail makes it hard for them to miss anything. Their analytical mind helps them in joining dots together, enabling them to find conclusions to patterns that they have observed. They have keen senses of vision, hearing, touch, smell, and taste, making it easy for them to note anything amiss.

3.] THINKING.

When it comes to making decisions, ISTJs use their heads and not their hearts. This is where the name “logistician” comes to play regarding them. They use truth, facts, and common sense to solve worldly problems. Feelings are important to them, but they take the back seat once important decisions have to be made.

4.] JUDGING.

Analytical thinking is involved in identifying patterns and conclusions for those patterns. Only in the case of an ISTJ, what is noticed are the instances of the moments and not the entire pattern. They are great at being attentive to details, though seeing the entire picture can be a bit of a problem most times. This makes them very good managers who sort out day-to-day issues. But they’ll need to be mentored by a CEO to learn how to see the big picture.

POSITIVE ISTJ TRAITS.

1.] Honest.

ISTJs value honesty since to them, honesty makes life a whole lot easier. You get to see things coming, you get to prepare for said things before they arrive and you get the chance to control events to maintain the status quo, something that ISTJs love to do. They make terrible liars but make for great lie detectors as they can read people by sheer observation. Luke was honest from the day he was called to work for Jesus. Not much is known about him except for the fact that he was mostly quiet and was great at recording events, geographical locations, and medicine, (since he was a physician). Because he used his eyes more than his mouth, he had fewer chances of committing a lie.
As a disciple of Christ, he had no choice but to speak the truth, since lies are not of God and you cannot use lies to evangelize about God.

2.] Dependable.

ISTJs are people that you can count on. They are good at keeping time and making plans happen. Once you agree on something that is to be done with them, they will be there, on time, ready to get to work and do what is needed. Luke was a man that could be counted on by Jesus and his peers. He was obedient and did everything as asked to the “t”. Paul was one of the few that praised Luke to a point of calling him a “fellow laborer” [Philemon 1:24]. He was a skilled navigator and helped Paul to find his way in his mission, more importantly, he was ready to evangelize with Paul whenever he was called with him.

3.] Attention to detail.

ISTJs are great at identifying minute details. They are the first at seeing gaps in plans and are smart enough to know what needs to be done to fill said gaps. They have keen observational skills and are very hard to lie to since they will read you like a book. Luke was also the same way. As a non-Jew and probably more in tune with Greek maps, he was quite useful in Geography navigation for Paul’s Evangelism mission. As a Physician, it can be speculated he also had to be good with details. If he wasn’t, the consequences could have been people’s lives.

4.] Great planner.

ISTJs are great at noting things off a to-do list. Even if it’s just a mental note. They are timeline-oriented and are great at keeping time and deadlines. A task has to have a beginning and an end, otherwise, it wouldn’t feel satisfactory to the ISTJ. Something will always feel a miss when they do. They are great at execution and their natural ability to lead or loyally follow through on a project makes them the best natural leaders for such jobs. Luke liked to document things he found important. Sometimes to remind himself, sometimes as letters to Paul and other apostles, and sometimes as things that need to get done. Once they have an idea, they break them down into simpler tasks that could be easily accomplished. This was useful to Paul since he had so much on his plate Evangelizing in different locations that needed planning to travel to.

5.] Loyal.

It takes a while before an ISTJ decided to commit to you, but once one does, it’s “do or die” with them. They will never leave you and will always have your back regardless of what may come your way. They will always deliver ad will never disappoint. They believe in mutual loyalty and would expect the same kind of loyalty in return. Luke has displayed loyalty in major instances in all of Christianity. He was by Jesus when he underwent His persecution and he was with Paul when he underwent persecution. Not at any point did he fear for his life so much more than completing the work being done. Now that is true loyalty.

NEGATIVE ISTJ TRAITS.

1.] Know-it-alls.

ISTJs tend to know a lot, even if not everything. They however have a nasty habit of talking to people whom they have low respect for as though they know everything. Even when they do not have all the facts. Some people might see it as being condescending while others as being patronizing. Even if that’s not how the ISTJ intends the message to be perceived, that’s how it will be perceived. ISTJs like to teach people things about how things should be done They sometimes forget, there’s no one way of doing things. Luke was a mysterious man not much was known about him. He liked writing about others and not himself. There was no documentation of him suggesting he possessed this trait. Then again, no writer can shame himself using his own words.

2.] Stubborn.

To a fault. An ISTJ can be set in his/her way. Stubborn over what? , could be a point of discussion as that would vary in every ISTJ (nature and nature being of significant influence on this development). But as much as they can be loyal to you, they also can be loyal to what they believe in. Getting them to change stances would be a difficult task. Luke was also stubborn, fortunately, he was stubborn in his views of Christ. That’s why he got out of his lucrative profession as a Physician and got into the uncertainties of discipleship under Christ and Evangelism after Christ’s resurrection. It is what made him help Paul with ministry even though Paul wasn’t an easy person to deal with. It is what enabled him to stick by Jesus and Paul as they were undergoing persecution. It is what made him stay in Christianity as he was undergoing his persecution. His still nature and stubbornness in Christ showed evidence that a trait like stubbornness or other seemingly negative traits can still be used to do God’s work and for His glory.

3.] Insensitive.

ISTJs can be crass at times. This is because their honest nature combined with their bold nature when required equates to them seeking truth in a tactless manner. They can ask inappropriate questions or questions that make you feel uncomfortable emotionally, just to get to the bottom of facts.
Luke was a writer of truth. His chapter in the Bible, Luke, looked at Jesus’ life from the perspective of a Physician that he was, hence why he noted more of Christ’s healing miracles than the other books in the Gospel. Because he was an author of the Gospel, books reviewed by highly critical Apostles such as Paul and considered fact, are evidence of how truthful he was. There is no evidence showing how Luke received his answers and whether or not he was crass in the questions he asked and since he wrote some of those books, he only seemed to focus on other people and their acts and not his own.

4.] Resistant to change.

Certain Myers-Briggs personalities are sensitive to change. They like control and the security that routinely brings to them. They prefer operating around their current status and changing that status, whether good or bad, will always create uncomfortable feelings within them. Somehow Luke outgrew this vice as he got into evangelism. He was filled with the Holy Spirit so much so that he managed to face the uncertainties that the life of Evangelism would promise him, never veering him off his mission. This is a testament that the Holy Spirit can help you win over your shadow’s nature.

5.] Control Freaks.

ISTJs love control. They like security and enjoy the status quo. It is within their nature to want to control everything. So obsessive is this need that they will feel they need to control the happenings of life. Something that makes them so overwhelmed once they realize that it is a close to-impossible task. Their expression of needs could come off as overbearing and nagging even though what they are voicing out is fear in a commanding tone. The fear of change and discovery of new ways of doing things. Why are they like this? Well, that is life’s mystery. It wasn’t documented anywhere whether Luke was a control freak or not. After all, not much was documented about him. What is for sure though is that the Holy Spirit must have helped him overcome this as well.

BOTTOM LINE.

Remember the Gospel.

God loves us, but He is not crazy about us.
We are wallowing in our own sin for which we have no savior.
We should always repent and believe in the sacrifice of our God, Jesus Christ who was sent by God the
father to die for our sins, so we might get to have eternal life. [JOHN 3:16]