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Gentle Reader,
Apparently there are people out there who think that shyness (used interchangeably with the term introversion) is sinful.
How irritating.
Yes, it is important to teach children to be polite. It is important to teach them to shake hands, to address adults respectfully and to look others in the eye. But come on. If my parents had forced me into situations, activities or relationships that I wasn’t prepared to engage in, I would have only retreated further. It’s beyond stupid to associate a reserved, contemplative personality with disobedience and sin.
After reading Adam McHugh’s Introverts in the Church over the summer, I’ve noticed the extroverted tendency to try and remold or even reject the quiet people more and more. Sadly, the Body isn’t immune.
We should be. We should be inoculated to this disease of comparison, competition and “better thans.” Jesus Himself should be the vaccine. Look at His crew! Peter was brash, Nathanael sat alone under a tree. Martha kept the party going, Mary listened intently. Paul spoke, Luke wrote.
Do I really have to go on?
Being quiet isn’t a sin. Having a contemplative, observational nature isn’t a sin. Needing alone time isn’t a sin. Preferring quality to quantity isn’t a sin.
You aren’t wrong. You aren’t bad. God made you the way you are. He can use you just as effectively as He can use the most effervescent, talkative, people-person types.
Anyone who thinks otherwise can keep it to themselves.
