The freestyle stroke reflects a Type A personality, characterized by being hard-charging, ambitious, impatient, and driven. Such individuals make a big splash in their endeavors, focusing on finishing the job with an all-work, no-play approach. The backstroke represents a sentimental or laidback personality, or at worst, someone living in the past. These individuals move forward in life but do so by feeling their way, as their perspective is backward-looking, possibly reluctant to face the future. The breaststroke symbolizes a timid, uncertain, or fearful personality. These individuals lack clear goals or ambitions, lurching from one thing to another in a staggering manner through life. The butterfly stroke embodies a confident, open, self-controlled, and coordinated personality. These individuals exhibit internal propulsion, moving forward with poise and efficiency, without making a big splash.

Personality often masks an inferior core, as seen when something that looks substantive and delicious on the outside proves empty and disappointing on the inside. The term "sincere" derives from Latin words meaning "without wax," indicating that something is genuine and has nothing to hide. In contrast, insincere suggests someone is concealing a flaw, making something appear to have quality when it is defective. The personality ethic, which emphasizes charm and outward appearance, has replaced the character ethic in society, leading to a generation of leaders who rely on superficial techniques rather than genuine convictions. This shift from the character ethic to the personality ethic results in duplicity, as individuals relying only on personality are seen as frauds. A baseball, representing the character ethic, has a firm core of God's law, wrapped with layers of instruction and covered by personality, which is firmly stitched to the core by God's Spirit. Conversely, a basketball, symbolizing the personality ethic, has a handsome cover but lacks a core, being inflated and vain. True goodness cannot be faked or externally attached; it must emanate from within, transformed by God's Spirit at the core.

The heart is often used in the Bible to describe human character and personality. In other words, the heart describes the dynamic forces that make us unique individuals. As a result, the heart can be instilled with moral qualities. The heart represents human personality, and God looks there, in addition to our actions, to see whether we are faithful. We are called upon to seek God with our whole hearts so that is where He looks to see if we are His people. Our personality functions from many different aspects of our being. The Hebrew word for heart represents our thinking, remembering, our feeling, our desires, and our willingness. Applying your whole heart to God means that you must have heart! That is, you are required to have faithful conviction, courage, perseverance, hope, and most of all the love of God and His way of life, and our fellow brethren.

Among those who observe human behavior, there is a theory that our experience with comfort during childhood shapes how we love and relate to others into adulthood. The question of whether one can recall being comforted as a child after emotional distress reveals much about our relationships. Comfort, encompassing support, encouragement, understanding, consolation, relief, security, and human touch, creates an imprint or style of connection that persists. Researchers identify five basic styles resulting from environments lacking comfort. First, in an environment with little affection and a high value on independence, one may become closed off, preferring space over risky emotional connections, and may respond with anger to emotional demands, struggling to bond deeply with others. Second, growing up with an overly protective or critical parent filled with anxiety may lead to a tendency to please others, avoiding conflict by giving in quickly, and harboring resentment after years of over-giving. Third, an unpredictable environment with inconsistent affection can result in feelings of abandonment, vacillating between desiring connection and anger when expectations are unmet, often idealizing and then discarding relationships. The last two styles emerge from chaotic, turbulent, or abusive environments. One response is becoming aggressive and controlling to avoid vulnerability, reacting with anger to disorder and struggling with empathy. The other is staying under the radar, tolerating abuse as a victim, and passively avoiding having a voice or standing for what is right. These styles can hinder the ability to form secure, stable relationships. However, regardless of childhood experiences, God, the God of All Comfort, offers healing and comfort to His children. As we are comforted by Him, we can become conduits of that comfort to others, learning to relate in healthier ways through His example and indwelling presence. Through drawing closer to Him, we overcome tendencies to be closed off, to appease, to fear abandonment, to control, or to remain a victim, finding security and trust in His unchanging nature.