"ENNEAGRAM" Kids Ministry Coffee Break 9: An ancient Christian tool is available to provide us with insight about ourselves; what motivates us, drives us, and helps us discover who we really are.

"ENNEAGRAM" Kids Ministry Coffee Break 9: You were created by God. In the beginning of your life, you were raw and pure innocence and being. You were this precious baby who came into the world as a blank slate. You had no concept of color even in your first days, let alone the concept of guilt, shame, evil, sin, or judgment. That all came later.

All children have this innate sense of being and self. You can see a person’s personality and passions at a very young age which, mostly, do not change. Your authentic self is who you are in your heart. What you love, what makes you laugh, what makes you sad, what makes you angry, what excites you…all a part of your authentic self.

Your adaptive self is the part of you which came in response to being in the world. You got a strong sense of what was expected of you at a young age. You learned how to make people happy, how to make them sad…or angry…or excited. You then adapted to the surroundings you were in…to survive and thrive. Some of those adaptations were great and wonderful things. You adapted to the etiquette of your culture to make good impressions. You showed to interview for your job having adapted to expectation…which paid off Some were not wonderful things.

You may have felt like you were never good enough as a child, which is why you are ALWAYS trying to live up to expectation. You may have been made to feel lazy because you don’t particular activities. Maybe you prefer art to manual tasks. You may have felt like you needed to always be helping people at all times to the point where you feel shame if you aren’t serving someone in some way. Whatever it is…good or bad…your adaptive self is not your authentic self. Adaptive self is not bad.

There are 9 types of people in the Enneagram. Knowing your type can help you understand your authentic self and adaptive self better. This can help you love yourself better. I’m a 9—if you didn’t know. I’m a Peacemaker I see things from other perspectives. I’d be a terrible politician because I would see the legitimacy of all people’s views at the table. I’d struggle to make a decision because I would be perceptive more than able to make strong judgments. I tend to recoil when conflict arises. Now…because of the Enneagram I am aware of my adaptive self and why I struggle in certain situations. This means I can recognize how I need to apply myself and have grace with myself in those moments. I make decisions now knowing that I’ll not be fully comfortable with it. I can be present in conflict understanding why I am so anxious about it. I can also see through the adaptive tendencies to better understand who I am authentically. I can see how I’ve stifled parts of my soul because of my context. Now I’m working to set myself free in new ways.

Jesus is always interested in who people are in their heart in scripture. Jesus is constantly healing people from the harms of their adaptive selves and reminding people that they are loved and valued for their authentic, precious, God-given passions and personality they entered this world with. You are precious to God. You were created authentically beautiful. You entered into a world full of flaws—this is what we refer to by original sin in my faith expression You’ve been hurt and had to adapt along the way. It’s okay. It’s part of being human. But I invite you to explore the Enneagram or whatever helps you embrace who were created to be in your heart. You will find joy, passion, strength, confidence, and purpose in this quest. Get the book “The Road Back to You” or “Self to Lose, Self to Find" to learn more.

Message brought to you by Rev. Joseph Sanford from Sanford Curriculum found on The Sunday School Store.

https://sundayschool.store/
https://ministry-to-children.com/the-best-childrens-ministry-podcasts/
https://10bibleverses.com/
Music brought to you by The Muse Maker.

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