Life Lessons: Eight of Ten – Judging is my Achilles Heel

September 3, 2025

Back in January 2020, I wrote about my Myers-Briggs personality type and how it leads me to often seek perfection. You can find the post HERE. Today, I want to dive deeper into why my tendencies lead me to one of my most important life lessons.

The Double-Edged Sword of Being an ISTJ

According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, I’m an ISTJ personality type. Without getting too deep into the psychology, this means I’m naturally drawn to:

• Introversion — I gain energy from reflection and inner thoughts
• Sensing — I prefer concrete, real information from my five senses
• Thinking — I analyze situations objectively and make logical decisions
• Judging — I prefer living in a planned, organized manner and enjoy reaching closure

That last trait, judging, sounds pretty positive, doesn’t it? And in many ways, it serves me well. I thrive on structure, planning, and organization. But here’s where things can get complicated.

Life Lessons: Eight of Ten - Judging is my Achilles Heel #hope #joy #WritingCommunity Share on X

When Good Traits Go Bad

The problem isn’t that I like to plan and organize my life. And the problem is not what I organize around. The problem is how I expect others to follow the same blueprint.

As someone who writes from a biblical worldview, I organize my life around Christianity. On the surface, this seems noble. Most wouldn’t argue with a life centered on following Jesus.

But here’s my Achilles heel: I start judging whether the people around me are living their lives the way I believe they should.

This subtle shift changes everything. Instead of focusing on my own relationship with God, I can become a self-appointed evaluator of everyone else’s faith journey.

The Reality Check I Need Daily

I must consider two truths.

First, I don’t even live up to the Christian standards I proclaim are central to my life. Every day, I do things I shouldn’t do and fail to do things I should. I’m far from the perfect example I sometimes expect others to follow.

Second, while the “J” in ISTJ refers to preferring structure and closure, it can easily morph into moral judgment when I project my expectations onto others.

A Better Way Forward

Instead of focusing on whether others meet my standards, I’ve learned to redirect my energy toward Jesus’ two greatest commandments:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40, NIV)

When I organize my life around these commands—truly loving God and loving my neighbor—I’m planning around Jesus’ actual teachings rather than my own interpretations of how others should live.

The Balance Between Discernment and Judgment

Don’t get me wrong—the Bible calls us to be discerning. We should recognize right from wrong, speak truth in love, and not ignore evil or wrongdoing. But there’s a crucial difference between discernment and judgment.

As the website 16personalities.com notes, “ISTJs tend to highly value facts and empirical evidence, they are unlikely to respect people who disagree with proven information—especially those who remain willfully ignorant.” This is exactly the kind of judgmental attitude I want to avoid.

Scripture makes it clear that while we should discern right from wrong, we’re not meant to be the world’s judge. That role belongs to God alone:

“There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?” (James 4:12)

The Daily Reminder I Need

My ISTJ personality will always lean toward organization and structure—and that’s not necessarily bad. But I need daily reminders to channel that energy toward loving God and loving others, rather than evaluating whether everyone around me is living up to my standards.

When I focus on these two commandments, my natural tendency to plan and organize becomes a tool for love rather than judgment. And that makes all the difference.

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References:

• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
• 16personalities.com ISTJ Profile