INTP PERSONALITY-Case study, King Solomon.

INTP PERSONALITY-Case Study, King Solomon.

Case Study- SOLOMON from the Bible.

The INTP personality individuals are nicknamed the “LOGICIANS” since they are the masters of plain logic. They are knowledgeable about many things from many different fields and use said knowledge to go through life with a sense of truth and frankness. Famous INTPs you might know include Bill Gates, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Kristen Stewart, and Avicii.

King Solomon happened to be an INTP. His Godly blessed wisdom without bounds made his life a living paradise of ease and opulence with a lot of power to boot. Probably one of the luckiest men in the Bible, being born a prince, becoming a King, and having the duty to build a temple of such magnificence for the Lord. This article is to discuss the traits of INTPs and probably from this, we can find out why he was used for the said purpose that was predestined and prophesied before the death of his father, King David.

INTP BREAKDOWN.

I-Introverted.
N-Intuitive.
T-Thinking.
P-Perceiving.

1.] INTROVERTED.

Introverted individuals like to recharge on their own. INTPs may like people (unlike most Introverted types), especially people that teach them something new. However, they also like some time to stick in their minds for a bit. Not just to recharge from the mental drain that people bring to them but also to think of new ideas, usually unusual but brilliant. They like to learn on their own which also requires a lot of alone time.

2.] INTUITIVE.

INTPs are masters of probability thinking. This is because they are good at identifying patterns of actions, habits, and behaviors of individuals and the world in general and the consequences of said actions, habits, and behaviors. They see connections that very few see and are also capable of predicting future events from present-day actions almost to an accurate degree by relying on their ability for probability thinking.

3.] THINKING.

INTPs are not called logicians for nothing. They are intelligent individuals relying on truth and facts to navigate the complexities of this world. They know a lot about many things and their diverse interests combined with a never-ending curiosity make them avid lifelong learners and great executioners of the truths that they have learned. The only way to persuade an INTP is through logic and fact. It is difficult to lie to them unless you twist the logic in a way that only an intelligent person can understand, which is hard to do with an experienced INTP.

4.] PERCEIVING.

INTPs are spontaneous individuals who operate with problems presented in the here and now. They do not like to plan ahead but enjoy solving problems that have presented themselves in the present. They come up with interesting solutions that they have garnered from many of the interests that they have learned something from and are always out to look for a novel way of doing things and new ways of thinking.

POSITIVE INTP TRAITS

1.] Open-minded.

This is both a positive and negative trait depending on how you look at it. They are open to new ideas and learning about different things. They are aware that there is no one way of doing anything and don’t mind coming up with creative solutions on their own that they will have learned from diverse sources. It can be a negative trait as it was to Solomon when he was old and dissatisfied with life (a consequence of knowing too much about this world. Otherwise known as boredom). It is then that women from different cultures polluted his mind with new information about their gods that he took them in and even got so influenced as to allow such idols in Israel. This made God so angry that he decided to take the Kingship from Solomon’s descendants.

2.] Focused.

INTPS are obsessed with ideas that pick their interest. So driven will be this obsession that they will tirelessly give in the effort required to keep the project of the idea alive or the learning of the new skill. They can be unidirectional in thinking until they achieve the required result. After that, they will always look for ways to improve on what they will have achieved. Once they achieve perfection (if they achieve it at all), they will return to boredom until they find some new prospect that triggers their mind, which will make them unidirectional in mind and dedicated to seeing the learning of the skill or the execution of the project through. Solomon was unidirectional in his purpose. He focused on completing the temple of God, expanding Israel as a nation, maintaining peace throughout his reign, and increasing economic prosperity in his lands.

3.] Honest and Logical.

Fact and truth are the driving force behind the thinking of every INTP. They are logical minded meaning that they will use what they have learned about people and circumstances and apply them in problem-solving. This is very useful since truth carries universal laws that always lead to the same conclusion. With the conclusions in mind, it is easy to use the truth about the conclusion that will lead it there. Solomon for example understood people and they are always driven by motivation. The differences in motivations came from people’s individual interests but unless depressed, humans always were motivated by something. In judging his cases, such as the one presented to him about the two women that were fighting over a child, he understood that the motivation of a mother is to keep the child safe. The one that acted against that was lying about being the mother to the child in question. And right he was.

4.] Creative.

This must be from their natural perceptive nature. INTPs like challenges, especially challenges stemming from their natural inclinations and interests. They use what they have learned and their experience in the field to come up with solutions to problems (preferably spontaneously) within their expertise. Solomon was more or less the same way. This was not in the Bible but from ancient texts, it was said that Solomon had a ring and knowledge of demonology where he managed to force demons into submission, coercing them into helping him in the building of his castle. For reasons unbeknownst to us, this information was scrubbed off the Bible, probably to discourage man from getting into demonology without the required faith to resist them or the wisdom to subdue them.

5.] Curious and Enthusiastic about Knowledge.

INTPs are lifelong learners. They are avid readers, avid seekers of skills, and avid executioners of unusually brilliant projects that can only be described as revolutionary. Solomon was a philosopher at heart as is evidenced by the books in the Bible, Songs of Solomon, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. Among other things, he was an avid study of women and their minds in his youth, of the laws of God and the world in his adulthood, and a teacher of wisdom and philosophy in his old age. Judging from the books he wrote, there is clear evidence that his knowledge was bountiful and yet still, he still lived to seek more of it.

NEGATIVE INTP TRAITS

1.] Absent Minded.

It is not uncommon for INTPs to zone out in conversation. They could be well in the conversation but get lost in their heads as an idea pops up randomly. From then on, it will take a minute before the INTP realizes that they should get back into the conversation. Their minds are creative and always think of the abstract and the hypothetical. They are always daydreaming about possibilities and probabilities and use their minds as an escape when the external world is banal and boring.
It was never said that King Solomon was ever absent-minded, but he always liked escapes. His 1000 wives and concubines are a testament to that. But after they got boring and he grew older, Ecclesiastes was written. A book of abstract philosophy and hypotheticals. I’d take a guess and say that some of the contents were thought of when he escaped from the external world.

2.] Insensitive.

The truth hurts. It is the one truth that has held water since time immemorial. INTPS speak their truth out all the time even when it is unnecessary and that is where people start experiencing the pain of knowing an INTP because he/she will have no qualms about being blunt with you. Under normal circumstances, they would rather not say anything, but when they are in an impatient mood, have something that they are busy working on, or are arguing about something that they are passionate about, they will not hold back their tongue. The severity of their truthful words will slice your heart into minced meat.
Solomon was always truthful. Of course, he was wise enough to hide what needed to stay hidden when the situation called for it but more often than not, he was overt with his bluntness. Luckily, at a time of peace and with him being King, barely anyone took offense. But I doubt the situation is the same with your friendly neighborhood INTP that isn’t a King.

3.] Impatient.

This is a usual problem with most intelligent or wise individuals, especially when they are well-versed in the abstract. They like to talk about the abstract and speak of it only once. They do not like having to repeat what they have said, so you have to be sharp in mind as well when dealing with one. Those that are “slow” and would like to be taught slowly often have a hard time having an INTP as a teacher since they do not like ” wasting time” teaching others, rather they would like to spend their time learning new skills if not executing them in action or chasing some novel idea.

It is better for an INTP to write down their teachings so others can take their time to comprehend the message as opposed to them having to teach people directly themselves. The fact that Solomon was never said to have mentored anyone anything in the Bible, yet he did write three books: Proverbs, Songs of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes, is a testament to this trait.

4.] Lazy.

This is a trait observed in all INTPs but in my personal opinion is only a misunderstanding. INTPs are thinkers. They analyze the facts of truth, form patterns, understand then execute, them in that order. This means that when given a task, they think before they act. Even if the action required is urgent, they will not do anything before they understand what needs to be done first. It is during this period of using their brain power that people consider these individuals lazy. But they really aren’t, their minds are just working overtime. If the task does not interest them enough, they think about more entertaining ideas in their minds and stay there forgetting that the external realm exists.
Solomon thought before he acted. But as King, that was his job. For an ordinary man, however, thinking is not expected to be part of the job if the task is urgent. Their slow reaction to action is what people consider laziness.

5.] Analysis Paralysis and Overanalyzing the Past.

As stated in the previous point, INTPs analyze everything. The problem with this is that sometimes in their low moods, they might start thinking about the past and overanalyzing what they said and did. Hoping and wishing that things would have been different (as observed in the book of Ecclesiastes on some of Solomon’s lamentations). When it comes to new tasks at hand, they may overanalyze the project at hand and work towards its perfection in their head. This might create serious delays in the conception and execution of the project. Even after execution, they might still feel imperfect and constantly try to improve it. Hence, overanalyzing everything.

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]