The Gospel for Achievers
As an achiever, I am tempted to believe living life is like treading water—if I stop accomplishing, I’ll sink. My greatest fear has always been standing before God at the end of my life and hearing him say, “You didn’t do enough.” But I’ve come to realize the voice I hear is mine, not his.
His “scorecard” is vastly different from the ones we keep, mostly because there is no scorecard with God. Contrary to the belief that what God wants most for us is to get more stuff done, his primary goal is to be with us and transform us into the image of his Son. The discipleship journey for an "Achiever" personality includes learning what it means to be a human being, not a human doing. It involves learning how to embrace your emotions as natural and even helpful, becoming more honest and authentic, taking off the mask, and finding your identity in God rather than what you do or with whom you are associated.
He wired you to accomplish a lot of quality things quickly, but ultimately created the world to be dependent on him, not you. Your first job—before doing anything—is to be, to rest in his sufficiency for you. Because He is on the throne, you can feel the freedom to slow down and let God reorient your life around his definition of success.
Because self-awareness is a necessary part of spiritual growth, the Enneagram can be helpful. Unlike other “personality” profiles such as Clifton StrengthsFinder and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the aim of the Enneagram is to uncover why we do what we do—to help us see what lies behind our strengths and weaknesses. If we use it as a diagnostic tool and allow the Bible to provide the language for our interpretation, it can produce great change in our lives, relationships, and work.
I admit, we must tread carefully as we draw insights from fields with limited horizons of evidence like psychology. But as with anything we come across in this fallible world, we can put on our gospel lens and make use of what God has provided to us through his common grace.
Let's look at how the gospel both affirms and challenges the unique characteristics of your personality type.
THE GOSPEL AFFIRMS ACHIEVERS
God sympathizes with the worldview of an Achiever. This chaotic world truly does lack order, is slowed down by unnecessary setbacks, and needs leaders who will organize the chaos, make plans, and get results. Therefore, an Achiever will be happy to know that the Bible affirms the following beliefs:
God created us to be productive. “And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'” (Gen. 1:28)
God created us to be faithful stewards. "His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’" (Matt. 25:23)
God created us to be efficient. "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." (Eph. 5:15–17)
God created us to work hard. "Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest." (Prov. 6:6–8)
God created us to give others hope. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." (Rom. 15:13)
THE GOSPEL CHALLENGES ACHIEVERS
On the other hand, the gospel also provides specific challenges to Achievers. Let’s explore the most common lies an Achiever believes and watch how the Bible provides much better promises and blessings.
Lie #1: Image is everything. Achievers want everyone to see their ideal image: someone who is cool, calm, effective, competent, and never idle. Unfortunately, this means we think an awful lot about our image during the day. Thus, while the mental fixation of an achiever is vanity, the truth is that God’s glory should be our greatest aim.
Lie #2: I am loved for what I do. The deepest longing of an Achiever is to be loved for who you are, not what you do. Christ Jesus is the one who can convey that deep sense of being loved—you are fully accepted not on the basis of your failures or successes, but his.
Lie #3: I must avoid failure at all costs. If appearing successful is the primary goal of the Achiever, then failure will be avoided at all costs. But the truth is that failure is not fatal for the Christian, because the fear of failure has been erased by Jesus’s justification, meaning Christ has taken our failures and exchanged them for his successes.
Lie #4: My identity is only as good as my last success. When your self-esteem is deflated by a failure or your public persona begins to lose popularity, you’ll be tempted to use a defense mechanism called identification. This means you’ll search for whatever image is successful in others’ eyes and adopt that as your own. But the truth is that your identity is secure in Christ.
Lie #5: I must wear a mask to be accepted. This lie will tell you to appear confident and successful at all times; that you must hide the parts of yourself you think aren’t as impressive to others. But hiding in shame will keep you perpetually trapped into thinking you are only loved for appearing successful. The truth is that Jesus died on the cross for your flawed self, not your accomplished self. When you believe this, it will transform the vice of deceit into the virtue of truthfulness.
Lie #6: I must go faster to get ahead. When the good desire for efficiency becomes ultimate, there will be a temptation to “be like God” in his ability and capacity. This will cause you to act like a human doing. You’ll create a relational separation between yourself and others, be tempted to take shortcuts on integrity, and prioritize public performance over private devotions. Ultimately, this will lead to burnout and despair. The truth is that you must slow down to love God and others because love always trumps productivity.
THE GOSPEL FOR ACHIEVERS
As you can see, the gospel will challenge your perception of who the protagonists and antagonists are in your life. In an Achiever’s kingdom, those who look the best and are the most productive are rewarded. Your “heroes” become those who boost your self-esteem, make you look good, and support your work habits. Likewise, your “villains” will become those who slow down your progress through laziness, pessimism, heavy emotions, warnings, negative feedback, or interruptions.
However, God’s kingdom will not be filled with those who climbed the success ladder faster, but rather with those who cast the crown of their successes at the feet of Jesus. In this place, there is no pretending or performing allowed. In this place, substance eats style for breakfast. In this place, things like interruptions, feelings, failures, and other perceived obstacles are really not obstacles, but God’s means of grace used to bring about spiritual growth.
This article was adapted from the introduction of The Gospel For Achievers: A 40-Day Devotional for Driven, Successful Go-Getters: (Enneagram Type 3).
Tyler Zach is the co-lead pastor of Citylight Benson Church. He is the author of The Gospel For Achievers: A 40-Day Devotional for Driven, Successful Go-Getters. Tyler lives in Omaha, Nebraska with his beloved wife, two adopted sons and goldendoodle. He is passionate about using the Enneagram as a diagnostic tool for spiritual formation and proclaiming the good news of the gospel as our only hope. You can stay up to date on forthcoming Enneagram devotionals on Instagram (@gospelforennagram) or on Twitter (@gospelforgram).