On Being a Christian Introvert

I don't have to take a personality test to know that I'm an introvert, and those of you who know me will confirm that statement.  The tests I have taken, though, indicate that I am about 60% introverted and 40% extroverted.  In other words, I'm not an extreme introvert, but I am energized by my solitude, and I prefer to expend my social energy in smaller groups of people.  I am content that God created me this way, but one thing I've come to understand is that I cannot use my personality as an excuse not to serve the Lord by serving others.  When Jesus gave the command to love your neighbors as yourself, he wasn't speaking only to those who are comfortable with social interaction.  Demonstrating love to others necessitates a willingness to extend ourselves to our neighbors. . .venturing out of our comfort zone to show care and concern.  Failure to do so is sin.

I recently read an article by Tim Challies, in which he conveyed the same sentiments.  He wrote:

I believe that God made me introverted. It seems clear that some of us are naturally more outgoing while others are naturally inclined to be quiet. I am naturally quiet and this is part of God’s good design. Neither one is inherently wrong and neither one is intrinsically better than the other. . .We inhabit a world of sin where any trait or quality can be used for God-glorifying ends or for self-glorifying ends. Not only that, but God calls us to be always willing to deny our desires in order to serve others. Both introverts and extroverts will face particular temptations to sin. My temptation as an introvert is to run away from people instead of serve people. It is to be selfish instead of giving. 

The Christian life is a life of self-denial. It is a life of saying, “Even though this may be what I want, duty compels me to do something different.” There are many times when I am to deny my own desires in order to serve others. Even the desire to be alone. David Powlison says it well:

The Christian life is a great paradox. Those who die to self, find self. Those who die to their cravings will receive many times as much in this age, and, in the age to come, eternal life (Luke 18:29). They will find new passions worth living for and dying for. If I crave happiness, I will receive misery. If I crave to be loved, I will receive rejection. If I crave significance, I will receive futility. If I crave control, I will receive chaos. If I crave reputation, I will receive humiliation. But if I long for God and His wisdom and mercy, I will receive God and wisdom and mercy. Along the way, sooner or later, I will also receive happiness, love, meaning, order, and glory.

I have no right to crave introverted solitude. Rather, the gospel compels me to deny even that trait and all its desires in order to serve other people. I am introverted, but this does not give me a different calling in life than the gregarious Christian.