ISFP-Case study, Ruth.

Case Study-Ruth

ISFPs are known as “The Adventures”. These loyal, peaceful creatives are strict on the values that they possess within themselves, and they make decisions based on these values. They have a hedonistic streak but one that is in control, so that they do not end up overtaken by their materialistic desires while losing their values in the process. Modern examples of ISFPs you might know include Michael Jackson, Rihanna, Marie Antoinette, Marilyn Monroe, Pablo Picasso, and David Beckham.
It was from Ruth that David, the second king of Israel, descended from, a decision God had made for something He saw within her character. This article is an attempt to find out what some of those traits in her were that God found her so worthy of such a blessing as to be David’s great grandmother.

ISFP BREAKDOWN.

I-Introverted.
S-Sensing.
F-Feeling.
P-Perceiving.

1.] INTROVERTED.

ISFPs prefer their own company in most cases. As warm as they are towards people, they prefer their own time alone to recharge from people and think about their problems or their creative pursuits. Hanging around people for too long might get them irritated without their alone time.

2.] SENSING.

ISFPs live their life learning through experience. They are more concrete than abstract individuals and are adept at taking in information. In the Myer’s Briggs spectrum, they are said to have the highest situational awareness as they pick up the most minute of details from their surroundings. They are great listeners, and keen observers and tend to enjoy tactile experiences such as great food, great music, and great visual art.

3.] FEELING.

ISFPs are very considerate of others and they value peace. They enjoy seeing other people happy and playing a role in that. Unfortunately, they are also conflict-averse and try as much as possible to avoid situations that will make them feel criticized, bullied, or misunderstood. Even if they are in the right, they will simply find ways to dodge the disagreement before it grows to something that will ruin their moods further. They make for loyal friends and able workers, especially if the work is to be done alone.

4.] PERCEIVING.

ISFPs prefer to live in the now. They barely make plans and improvise their way through life. Societal rules and dogma are too restricting so in most cases, they break the rules when they feel that their values supersede them. They are spontaneous and abrupt, never acting to plan but always coming up with creative solutions on the go.

POSITIVE ISFP TRAITS.

1.] Great Observational Skills.

ISFPs see and hear a great deal. They have a keen sense of adventure, and they can notice things that most people wouldn’t see. They have a curious mind for the concrete, what is happening in the here and now, and approach life with a great spark in their eye so long as it is new and different. Ruth was a lovely lady with an eye for adventure. That is why she, a Moabite married an Ephrathite from Bethlehem (Mahlon) and eventually an Israelite in Judah (Boaz). Her observational skills were not described as such in the Bible except for when she was a great listener and felt the pain of Naomi who lost her sons, Mahlon and Chilion in Moab. Her empathy combined with her great observational skills made it easy for her to comfort her mother-in-law, Naomi, as she grieved.

2.] Loyal and Empathetic.

ISFPs have a remarkable trait of sticking somewhere when they have decided to stick. They make for great partners to those that do not want to be involved with those that cheat. They are also highly emotional beings in the sense that they can read people’s emotions much more easily than most. That combined with their keen observational skills makes them great listeners and great comforters at a time when it is required. Besides being a great source of comfort to Orpah (Chileon’s widow) and Naomi (her mother-in-law who lost both her children and her husband Elimelech), she was also a great source of support for Naomi who decided to stay by her even after she no longer had any reason to stay after Mahlon, her husband had passed away. Her famous words [Ruth 1:16 “Where you go, I will go, where you stay, I will stay, your people shall be my people and your God shall be my God.”] proved her loyalty, especially after she lived by her word. She and Naomi eventually went back to Bethlehem where Boaz, Naomi’s kinsman finally married Ruth after buying the estate from Naomi, in a bid to return the favor for Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi. Even after he passed away a day after the wedding, their union was blessed with a son, Obed, who was David’s grandfather.

3.] Principled.

ISFPs stand firm to the value systems that they hold dear. Good or bad, whatever’s society might construe doesn’t matter to the ISFP so long as they believe what they are doing is right in their core. They will stand firm in that decision and will not waver once they choose to go a certain route. It was this trait that Boaz found most attractive in Ruth. Ruth’s selfless and loyal love for her mother-in-law ( something that most women struggle with in today’s day and age since they generally can’t stand each other) made Boaz acts with such generosity in matters about the land and field, securing a future for both of them in that drought. Their offspring, Obed, secured an inheritor of the field therefore no one had the right to take the land from them according to the past laws. All this is because Ruth stayed true to her principle of loyalty to her mother-in-law, Naomi.

4.] Practical.

ISFPs are concrete by nature. That means they live in the here and now and focus on tangible problems that they experience. This is a great trait to possess when dealing with real-life problems since they require real-life solutions. Ruth clearly had this trait in spades. She knew that if she went back to her Moabite lands during the drought after her husband Mahlon had passed away, she would be living a life with no future. She was better off sticking with Naomi especially since she knew that Naomi had plans to leave for Bethlehem to meet Boaz, Naomi’s kinsman. Her loyalty to her may have played a huge role in securing a future for both of them since Naomi decided to marry her off to Boaz who had taken a liking to Ruth, which resulted in them both gaining an estate and a grandson, Obed as a security to the future of the estate; but her practicality to the circumstances she was facing at the time is what determined her moves. Like a chess board, she eventually hit checkmate as they didn’t have to go hungry in the end during that famine and they had a place to rest their heads.

5.] Adaptable and Creative.

ISFPs do not plan life ahead in most cases. Rather they live life a day at a time dealing with issues as they present themselves. Because of their natural state of perception, they are highly creative with the solutions that they come up with when they present themselves at face value. Ruth was very good at this and she knew that the way to a restful future at a time when drought was severe was through Boaz, Naomi’s kinsman who had an estate with fields of grain. She knew that she was only meant to stay with them to survive at least. When Naomi presented a solution to lay with Boaz who she noticed was being extremely generous with them because of having a liking for Ruth, she saw sense in this claim and tried to “inadvertently” seduce him. Being a man of strong faith he of course denied her but chose to marry her after having bought the estate from Naomi as was the law at the time. Her judicious reasoning with Naomi helped secure their future together.

NEGATIVE ISFP TRAITS.

1.] Disinterested in the abstract.

ISFPs do not like discussing imaginary concepts not because they do not respect them, but because they do not value them. Imaginary concepts have no role in the real world to them unless they are presented in a live form that can be appreciated. That is why you might find them zoning out when someone speaks about music but are very keen on the final presentation of the music itself. It is not stipulated anywhere in the Bible that Ruth possessed this trait. In her defense, her circumstances back then were harsh and severe. They were too busy surviving to have anything abstract to discuss. Either that or they didn’t see any need to discuss this trait in her in the Bible.

2.] Terrible with long-term plans and projects.

ISFPs are not good with rules. Long-term plans require rules because they involve short time goals with deadlines, consistency, and routine. Things that ISFPs feel constrained with. They are great at handling new situations that happen to occur in the here and now. This makes them very great short-term goal executioners but are often not trusted with a long-term projects. As far as Ruth is concerned, everything she handled with Naomi was in the thought of long-term sustenance but only short-term actions were required to attain them. Therefore, there is no way to deduce whether this was a trait that she possessed. It is, however, a general issue with most ISFPs.

3.] Selfish with their time ( Withdrawn and Quiet).

If you know any ISFP, you will realize just how reserved and quiet they seem to be most times. Always seemingly wistful, contemplative, or melancholic. Even if they are busy doing something, you will notice that they are mostly in their heads as they operate somewhat in a daze. This is not Biblical when concerning Ruth but in every movie about her, it was always noted that when she was in the fields, she preferred to be alone and in her thoughts. ISFPs love their alone time. They like to think of creative solutions to their present-day problems and life in general. Their introverted and introspective nature makes this possible. The problem comes in when they do not like to socialize as much, and nobody really knows that much about them. This is because they will barely communicate anything about themselves or their feelings unless they have come to a conclusion in their minds about them. Patience is required in befriending ISFPs because of this.

4.] Easily overwhelmed with stressful situations.

Just like most Feelers, ESFPs are attracted to positive feelings and anything that brings that effect. Unfortunately, the inverse is also true, anything that spikes negative feelings in them they avoid like the plague. They are not very good with taking criticism, nor with being on the wrong side of a disagreement. Any sign of facing anything akin to this, they run away, hide, or avoid it altogether. Such is the same case with highly stressful situations especially when they are alone. They cannot go through tough times without consistently breaking down and feeling sorry for themselves for much longer than most Myers Briggs personalities and would rather go through such times with others than alone. I do not know what was on Ruth’s mind when the drought hit and was asked by Naomi to return to her family now that she was a widow, but a hypothesis can be suggested that she was scared of having to face her life without Naomi now that things had turned for the worst and that she would rather have dealt with the situation with Naomi than alone, going back to people that she had not seen or heard from for decades.

5.] Jaded and Bored easily.

ISFPs are very difficult to impress for a long time because the novel gets old too quickly. They are suckers for new experiences and environments but once it gets too banal, they become jaded about it. Wishing to experience something much more novel than she already has experienced. It is not written anywhere in the Bible that Ruth was like this but granted back then, there were very few things that spiked dopamine as much as the things we experience nowadays. This stems from their feeling nature where their excitement stems from. The novel evokes excitement, but the feeling is fleeting so the novelty disappears just as quickly.

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]