Case Study- Simon Peter

ENFPs are otherwise known as the “CAMPAIGNERS” as they are outspoken and they spread out their grand ideas of goodwill from themselves to others. They are open-minded and open-hearted and genuinely care for humanity. Probably why people consider them de facto leaders because people trust that their decisions are for the betterment of the entire group and not only just focused on their growth but also the group’s growth.

Famous ENFPs you might know include Jennifer Lawrence, Jennifer Aniston, Cara Delevingne, Russel Brand, Sandra Bullock, Jim Carrey, and Daniel Radcliffe.
In the Bible, Simon Peter is the case study. This article is to look at the ENFP personality, drawing examples from Peter and his life. He was one of Jesus’ close friends and it would be good to uncover what was so likable about him to Christ.

ENFP BREAKDOWN.

E-Extroverted.
N-Intuitive.
F-Feeling.
P-Percieving.

1.] EXTROVERTED.

ENFPS loves people. They love being the center of attention even though they do get shy in presence of it at times. They recharge by being around people and are warm and loyal to those that they hold dear. They are outgoing and like exploring the world with people. They prefer to share great memories with people than alone.

2.] INTUITIVE.

ENFPs are abstract thinkers. They are very perceptive of people and intuit people’s feelings, motivations, and intentions just by conversing with them. They have great memories and can remember not only what someone said but also how someone said it, giving them a clear picture of what that person really wanted, even long after the conversation has ended. They have a future-oriented vision and their intuition makes them better at seeing possible possibilities of life and its consequences as it unfolds.

3.] FEELING.

ENFPs love humanity and they love solving problems for people and making their lives easier, especially people that they are close to. This makes them think with their heart and not their head because they also think about the emotional and spiritual stability of the individual that they are helping. They are empathetic and they use their feelings in deducing someone else’s state of mind. In so doing, they will know how to completely understand the situation by putting themselves in the victim’s shoes. They can go above and beyond for those that they cherish.

4.] PERCEIVING.

ENFPS are perceptive by nature. They hate routine and are open to new and exciting experiences in the here and now. They like solving problems that present themselves spontaneously and are open to the options that are available at that particular point in time. They are great at handling urgencies and emergencies that have presented themselves even when everyone else is going crazy. They are said to be the most resilient in urgencies in the entire Myers Briggs personality spectrum.

POSITIVE ENFP TRAITS.

1.] Charismatic.

ENFPs are people, people. They actually like people, something that probably stems from their natural extroverted nature since most introverts do not. They like being in the limelight and have an air of roughness that people find endearing and charming. They do not shy away from speaking their mind which is surprisingly deep. Their open-mindedness and open-heartedness make people lean into them for leadership and direction since they feel safe in the hands of ENFP leaders even without any kind of appointment or election.
Peter was the de facto spokesperson for the 12 disciples as he had no qualms airing out what he thought directly to Jesus as well as the congregations that always seemed to surround them. After Jesus’ resurrection, Peter was on a journey to do as Jesus had commanded, which was, to build God’s church.
He was a fervent preacher on Pentecost, from when he gathered 3000 new believers [Acts 2], a difficult feat at the time of no microphones, yet God gave him the ability and natural charisma to pull this off.

2.] Warm and Caring.

ENFPs are open-hearted to a fault. They still believe in saving humanity even when the rest of the world has already given up. They believe in making the world a better place and leaving it as such and they feel for those that are in suffering even if they do not know them. They are genuine at heart and are open to sharing more of themselves than they can get back from this world.

Peter was the same way. Yes, he was a bit rough around the edges but he did live a tough life and as a leader of men, he had to exude strength. Most people thought him cold because of this but he was just a dutiful man. He was not a man of means and he had no education. He was by every definition, average. However, after meeting Jesus, his true self began to show. Though he remained dutiful, he was now free to exude the warmth he always felt but never showed. He smiled more and took care of the disciples and the people that came to him. He expressed God’s love in a manner of ways but the most marked one was through healing the lame [Acts 3] by using God’s strength. He always did what he could to share God’s love and welcome people to Christ’s church.

3.] Loyal.

ENFPs make for loyal friends. Yes, there might be instances that their feeling function will make them overreact or act in ways that may make you question your friendship or relationship stability but after they settle down and come back to their senses, their loyalty to you will be proven time and time again. They are people-centered and like keeping their people happy. They are devoted to the people and the cause that the people are fighting for. Peter had this trait in spades. Yes, he did deny Jesus three times out of a few moments weaknesses, but after coming to his senses and repenting of his sin, he got back to his devout nature and fought for the kingdom of Christ. He was loyal to the cause of Christ and started the church on his sermon on the Pentecost where 3000 Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles joined the church and obtained the Holy Spirit. Until his death when he died as a martyr at St Peter’s Square at the Vatican, he never swayed and did what Jesus asked of him until the very end.

4.] Future-oriented.

ENFPs see the grand picture of things. They question life and see the connections of everything both in the physical and spiritual realms. This ability to form connections and patterns makes them find conclusions to actions easily. They spot patterns that have occurred in the past and can foresee the same patterns repeating in the future so long as the basic fundamentals causing these patterns to remain. This is because of their abstract thinking function that stems from their intuitive nature.

Peter was given a hard task to do, to be the rock of Christ’s church. A proper fisher of men. This trait came in handy as it helped him in organizing the last supper, organizing the sermon on Pentecost, and meeting the Roman Centurion Cornelius which paved the way to expanding Christ’s church to the Gentiles. It took faith and courage to do these things, but the confidence to execute them came from his far-sighted nature. He accepted a martyr’s death due to this as well, since it gave him hope to resurrect and be with Christ again.

5.] Great perception and intuition about people.

ENFPs can read people like a book. This is because they are naturally empathetic thanks to their feeling function. They read people and observe people’s reactions and non-reactions. Concluding by putting themselves in the shoes of others. They are kind and gentle with people’s hearts hence why they tailor their conversation to the reactions that they get from said individuals.
Peter had a big heart and keen intuition about people. As a leader, of the fishermen, then the spokesperson of Christ, and as the rock of Christ’s church, he had to be. He showed compassion to those that needed it and knew how to give people what they needed and not what they wanted. For example, for the lame man that asked for money from him at the temple, he gave him the ability to use his legs instead and the man couldn’t be happier. He read the crowd that sat with him at Pentecost and gave them not the teaching that they were looking for but a new life in Christ and a consequent helper, the Holy Spirit. His Intuition played a great role in his art of conversation for the sole purpose of saving people’s souls.

NEGATIVE ENFP TRAITS.

1.] Impulsive.

ENFPs can be impulsive due to their feeling function. They don’t like showing it but once their hearts swell enough, say with grief, anxiety, or even love, they tend to act in ways that people consider uncontrolled. It isn’t often and is observed only in delicate situations but it does happen. Peter showed this often in the presence of fear. When fear took over him his faith always got shaken. Something that Jesus drilled out of him. He started drowning in the water when he focused on the storm and not on Jesus, he claimed never to deny Jesus even though he knew that Jesus never lied, and out of loyalty towards Jesus, he cut off a guard’s ear when they came to arrest Jesus. He was brash in action when fear took over him. But once he conquered fear, he conquered this negative aspect of himself.

2.] Can be smothering.

ENFPs are like puppies at heart. When they love, they love deeply and consistently. And unlike most others whose affection stagnates with time, ENFPs’ love grows over time. This can be a problem for incompatible partners who stagnate their affection after the “honeymoon phase” of their relationship dies down. They will feel the excess attention and affection that they receive is akin to being smothered and would prefer to be left alone entirely. This is a common problem observed in couples therapy, especially for ENFPs.

Luckily, since Peter was close to Love Himself, this was never an issue, in fact, it was encouraged. But when dealing with meager mortals such as us, it can be assumed that the reason he tried hard to never show his emotional self before meeting Jesus was that the feedback he must have received from people when showing too much affection must have been negative. The obvious recourse to that is shutting down.

3.] Dislike Conflict and Criticism.

ENFPs do not like to face conflict or criticism. A consequence of their feeling and perceiving function. They like to maintain peace and feel good at the moment. Negative feelings overwhelm them and they usually end up doing foolish things when they are affected by negativity in some way or form. Over time, this system overrides and they get a sense of control over their emotions but it doesn’t occur overnight.
This was observed in Peter during his short time with Christ. He disliked the fact that Judas would betray Jesus but couldn’t confront him. He disliked that Jesus saw his future as a betrayer and he started acting unlike himself. The famous saying “Go thee behind me Satan!” was a consequence of
Peter having allowed the devil to take control of him during the confrontation with Jesus because he was destabilized emotionally. This was evidence that conflict made Peter lose his self-control.

4.] Forget themselves.

ENFPs love as a dog loves. Completely and without condition. So long as you accept them for who they are without condition as well. They give too much of themselves until they forget themselves, making them excellent candidates to marry for the narcissists in society. ENFPs are quite likely to develop Stockholm syndrome to kidnappers, stay in destructive marriages and stay in a job that treats them badly for the sake of love or purpose.
Luckily Peter loved all the right people. The extent to which he saw no fear in death for the sake of loving Jesus is a testament to how far they can go once an ENFPs heart belongs to you.

5.] Boredom.

Change is uncomfortable for everyone, but ENFPs would rather have change than have boring consistency. They do not like the same mundane things and doing such might create misery in their hearts. Growth is important to them but not as important as a consistent adventure. I can only imagine why Peter appeared to be an emotional scruff. He must have been exhausted from the mundane fishing. Probably one of the reasons why he was all too willing to fish for men with Jesus was because his drab fisherman existence was slowly killing him on the inside.

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]