Equilibrium
(A study of balance in the personalities) by
Dock Caton
First edition, 1981 in Spanish in Barcelona, Spain translated into English 2008 by DC
PREFACE
EQUILIBRIUM is a simple study of the personalities, based on the temperaments. Solomon once said that nothing is new under the sun, and although not fully understanding all the implications of that statement, the writer noted the truth in it when he discovered that often writers come up with thoughts and ideas that have been used by others, long before he himself uses them. Sometimes those ideas have been penned in writing even long before they were born. And sometimes writers are guilty of outright plagiarism. Still on other occasions, thoughts will come, because one is widely read, and when they begin to carve out their story, things come to them they have read in the past, but have no remembrance of who the author is, or when and where they have read it. Such is the case with this present text.
The writer first captured the ideas in this book from the writings of Tim Lahaye, who retrieved a lot of his information from O'Halsby a Norwegian who took his information from the earliest known studies beginning with ancient Astrologers. From there the Greeks picked up on it, and many writers have followed thereafter. A little more of the history of the temperaments will be found in Chapter 4.
over many years, the author has taken the subject, and passed it though the filters of his own personal testing and experiences and has found that it remains a good example in the attempt at understanding one's self. He takes no credit for the idea, but has put the teachings and techniques through his own filtering process, and has come up with his own usage of those ideas.
While living and working in Madrid Spain, the writer sought after a plan of evangelism that he felt may reach to the hearts of the Spanish people and culture. He realized that as the French Philosopher Pascal said, “every man has a vacuum that can only be filled by God” that he too had a big dark black hole in his soul and being that must be filled, or he would never find peace and joy in this life, or the life to come.
At an attempt in following the example of Jesus, who sought a cold cup of water from the woman at the well, he realized that Jesus himself had a way and means of witnessing to her. He had his particular way of influencing some poor fishermen, and simply invited them to follow Him. He managed to confuse the minds of wise men doctors, lawyers and Pharisees as He simply stated “you must be born again.” And He spoke to brilliant tax collectors, soldiers and commanders in armies in such a way that confounded them all. Regardless of what man may think of Him today, He was the Master Leader, and the greatest teacher and philosopher who ever lived.
This idea was born in the mind of the present writer, when he tried to think of ways to come up with texts and simple studies of Evangelism, to reach people in whatever trade or field of interest they possessed. It was his idea to implant the Gospel in a language and style that would speak to, and be clearly understood by the recipient in his field of interest. It was also intended to find the specific spiritual location of his contacts, meet them at that juncture, and with God's help,bring them to a relationship with Jesus Christ. Then by the same grace, his hope was to carry them just one more step in their journey.
At the time of the initial writing, he lived in the suburbs of Madrid in the midst of a highly educated populace, among men and women of great affluence in the Spanish culture. His best friend at the time, a next door neighbor, was a medical doctor and philosopher who enjoyed discussions on any topic. One of his major areas of interest was psychology, so that gave the writer an opportunity to try out his theory.
He gradually made other friends who were engineers, teachers, pilots, lawyers and from many other walks of life. He tried his best to meet them on their level of interest. Over time, he discovered the theory was workable, and with the help of other neighbors and friends, who were interested in writing, and translating, he managed to pull this work together. He wrote the study, in Spanish, and then began a frantic search for anyone who would share some time with him in getting his text into a decent presentation for publishing. Thus, many people were given opportunity to hear the Gospel through this system. And even his philosopher friend himself while helping with the editing of the first text stated that he was very intrigued by the words he read from this small manual. Though never knowing what sort of influence this one book may have had on the lives of anyone, it was sold in Christian bookstores in Madrid and Barcelona. A few remaining copies lay packed away in the writers basement, until the spring of 2007 when he dug it out thinking it may be of some value to someone who might cross his path. It was then, he wiped off the dust, and began a long process of translating it back into English. This edition is the result of a longtime plan and desire to make use of an idea on how to do evangelism which lay dormant for over 27 years, but now he sees that many of the issues dealt with have been actual experiences in his own life.
Chapter 1
In every generation, man has had problems really knowing himself, and his reason for living. Socrates looked for reason in knowledge. Leonardo da Vinci,not being able to understand reason in mathematics looked for it in art. Hitler looked for meaning by seeking power. Today, man continues the search for reason, for peace and contentment through music, science, psychology or by an intimate relationship with another person. Unlike previous generations, people today, especially youth suffer less inhibitions in talking about their problems. But with age, and perhaps with a family to care for, it becomes more and more difficult for a person to admit he has a problem. Until one can discover and admit his problems, a reason for being, and for peace for which he is frantically searching, he may try to cover his problems, faults or sins. Any attempt to cover the problem produces certain results that are manifest by the person being trapped in a life of guilt feelings, and produces some common reactions.
How man reacts to his environment, plays a role in the development of his personality. There are four common elements presented below, that when studied in depth will give greater insights into his personality. Those elements are the material (finances); marriage (family); mental and emotional; and physical. Let's take a look at the way man reacts to these particular elements, to help us understand our personalities better.
First, is the material. In a real search for true peace and happiness in life, man sometimes concludes that he will be happy and find meaning if he can find wealth. He is deceived into thinking material things will make his life more comfortable and easy, and thus have peace. Having a lot of money and material wealth has become socially acceptable in our society, and seems to be a reasonable goal for us. But not being able to achieve a desired level one may be trapped into a life of deceit, cheating, lying, or taking advantage of other people in order to reach his goals. If he reaches his goal, he soon discovers that it really does not bring him peace, and that great void and emptiness remains.
A second element to be looked at is marriage. Sometimes an individual will think that he can fill his emptiness by marriage. After the honeymoon is over, and he starts to settle into real life with the new spouse, he or she may quickly discover that problems still remain, and still, something is missing. This leads to breakdowns in communication between the two, and the love begins to fade. This then leads to one or the other searching for love and peace in another individual, and ultimately the marriage ends sadly in divorce. Children are greatly affected in such a situation and learn by example from their parents. Without anyone realizing it, parents teach their children to lie, cheat and steal, and soon anger and/or hatred builds up inside them, because of these daily reactions found in their parents and ancestors. An example of this is a young mother in a hurry to get her children off to school or the soccer game, stops quickly at the market to pick up some needed item. She may have two or three kids tagging along behind her. As they enter, the market, the youngest spots an electric, child size riding pony, or a tiny auto, and climbs on for the ride. Mom screams out, “come on Joey, we will be late for the game.” But Joey is persistent in the fact that he must have a nice ride. Mom, without thinking says, come on, we will ride it later. You can imagine what goes through Joey's mind. “Okay, I can ride when we leave.” At the check out, Joey runs back to climb on the horse, and wants mom to put in the dollar to make it move. But mom has other ideas. In her frenzy to get back on the road she tells Joey no, it is broken, in spite of the fact that Joey has just seen another child jump off after a long enjoyable ride. Maybe she says she has no money even after Joey has seen the hand full of coins his mother is putting back into her purse.
Another good example of this, that really stirs the ire of this writer, is hearing a parent tell a child while shopping, “if you touch another thing in here the police are going to come and take you to jail. These types of reactions to life are great teachers to our children and have a great affect on them in their informative years. They grow up repeating similar behaviors in the lives of their own children.
Mental and emotional reactions
There are mental and emotional issues that need to be dealt with which result from such stories listed above. Not being able to find solutions to problems and needs, a person will often try to hide or escape their problems, and soon reach a point of feeling useless. He or she finds no meaning in life, so they begin to work harder to become engaged in all sorts of activities to drown out their emotions. They soon have inferiority complexes, and see themselves as worthless and not capable of advancing in life. Self worth has been engulfed with doubts and confusion. The mind becomes confused and he finds himself having to take some sort of a tranquilizer to calm the nerves. One may even become vexed with his or her children as he or she finds them screaming or hollering for no apparent reason. They become burdened down and not able to accept life as it really is. The mind begins to escape reality. Then this person goes through the day weighted down in delusion by family, or friends at work. They reach a point that it is difficult to stand up under the pressures of simple everyday life. Then comes the physical reactions.
Physical reactions
Feelings of guilt begin to accumulate and it is hard for one to determine between fiction or fantasy and reality. They see it is becoming difficult if not impossible to reach their daily goals and dreams. The guilt grows and the person finds it difficult to live with all the remorse in his conscious being. This guilt becomes debilitating and leads to sickness, and now he has to try to escape from these kinds of wounds. This then leads to more tranquilizers, alcohol or drugs, and then they discover they must look for professional help which then leads to another discovery. They do not have the financial means to pay for all the different treatments they need. This puts them on the path to neurosis, which may even lead to suicidal tendencies. According to medical reports in the late 1970's, half of the patients in the hospital were there because of physical problems brought on by pressures of the mental state. For example, hypertension can be caused by depression, resulting from some of the problems mentioned above. This happens far more than we are willing to admit, and today the statistics are likely much higher.
Some people try to find relief and solutions to their problems thorough psychotherapy. The basis of psychotherapy is the I, (ego), the power or ability of man to solve his problems for himself. Psychotherapy says, “I can do this,” “I have the resources within me to solve my problems.” “If I can't do it, I can go to another person who can help me figure things all out.” But still, no man has ever been able to solve his own problems.
One only has to look at the world alone, to see how big and how great it is. Then he can take a look at man, and see the messes we get ourselves into. That in itself should teach us our inability to solve our own problems. The unstable economy, the insecurity of the nation, the deterioration of our environment, the explosive situations among countries of the world, the crime and the terror, tensions among people in general, are all indicators of problems far greater than we are able to understand or comprehend. So to think that psychotherapy in itself is capable of solving the “I problems”, (the ego), that we live with, is just a misnomer to say the least. We should be very quick to add, that God, in his infinite wisdom has placed doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists and counselors and even just friends, in our paths to help us find our way through troubled waters. We need someone at times to set us back on course, and a path to growth and fellowship with Christ, when we on our own manage to step out of line and get off course. The works of good people that God gives us which are Biblically based and biblically sound can help us relieve a number of anxieties. Paul Tournie was one of the leaders of psychosis who opened up great methods of psychotherapy, based on the concept of scripture. Hans Eysneck made an in depth investigation relative to the results of psychotherapy. In His book “Fountains of faith in the orientation of psychotherapy.” He says, there are great deficiencies in the therapeutic process of psychotherapy. This book consists of 19 studies registered in writing , describing more than 7000 cases referring to psychoanalytical treatments, and even includes some shock therapy treatments. One could draw certain conclusions from his study. One is, that it cannot be proven that psychotherapy, whether Freudian psychotherapy or any other enhances the recuperation of neurotic patients. It has been shown that approximately 2/3 of neurotic patients recover or at least improve to some extent from the consequences of this sickness in a period of two years or less, whether they have been treated through psychotherapy or not. We then conclude that man cannot solve his own problems and in some cases, psychotherapy can cause impediments for a happy, peaceful, complete and fruitful life. Man seeks for mental peace, for satisfaction and happiness. Because of this, we have all sorts of religions and practices coming tho the forefront in man's search for peace. These include oriental religions, pagan cults, mysticism, and even the study and belief in demons. Transcendental mediation, yoga, and even satanic worship are prominent in the search. Names such as Maharishi Yogi, Sun Myung Moon and Majarij Ji are know all over the world. Books like the Chariot of the Gods, He lived and died in Cachemira, and Encounters of other Worlds, are sold in bookstores everywhere.
Although man has created an infinite number of religions and philosophies intended to bring us a lasting peace, they have not been able to accomplish this feat. Perhaps it is because their attempt, leaves God out of the picture. The great French Philosopher Pascal said on one occasion , that “inside of every man there is a vacuum, shaped in the form of God, that cannot be filled except by God alone. That is the sole intent and purpose of this study.
Chapter 2
Knowing yourself
While passing through life, man tries to find at least one person to be close to him and with whom he can commune. But often he realizes that such a person is capable of leaving him at a time of his greatest need; sometimes in complete, abandonment. He may try so hard to fill his own needs that he places too many pressures and anxieties on the relationship. The truth is that his or her mate is not always able to satisfy all those needs, so he begins to look for help or assistance in another person. He may even walk away from a marital commitment looking for fulfillment in a career or some other profession or activity. But that kind of search leads to insecurity. One moment you have a job, and the next moment it is gone, especially in times of economic crises. The result is he still is looking and longing for something to fill the great void in his life. Of course, there is only one person who can fill that void, or vacuum and this is Jesus Christ. In His Word, we find His promises satisfy all of our needs.
And My God will meet all of your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Eph. 4:19
Feeling in the midst of deception.
When God created man, He sent His spirit to come and dwell within him. But that plan changed at the fall of man, when man rebelled against God's original plan. Then God gave man a second chance to let the spirit come in and control his life. Apostle Paul dedicated the majority of his life explaining the second opportunity. Summing up his message, we find in Acts 20:21
I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance, and have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The word repent means to change our attitude completely about a matter. That means a complete and radical change in the way one thinks. When a person accepts this challenge, realizing he has a personal need of Christ in his life, and then acts on it through belief, he is repenting and now has a relationship with God through Christ. At the moment of confession, and claiming Christ as Savior, He is a new creature , a new creation. Because of that, Paul continues explaining in 2nd Corinthians 5:17
What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons, They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! NLT
When man is controlled by self, instead of Christ, He will face many complications and problems, mentioned in the previous chapter. Guilt, futility, impotence, fear, nervousness and depression take over. He cannot find real peace. Anxiety sets in, and he feels defeated. It is then he begins to understand this great vacuum that Pascal talked about, and he begins to realize that he himself is nothing. Mental pressures overtake him in even a greater way, and when he finally sees he is nothing, and can do nothing to fix himself, through faith, he permits Christ to fill this vacuum. The presence of Christ at that time will bring him a true peace. To the measure that he permits Christ to work in the inner self, or inner being, depression is lessened, mental pressures decrease, and
the person comes out having a better understanding of himself.
Accepting one's self
One of the principal causes of wars between nations, disputes betweens fellowman and fights or arguments in the family is due to breakdowns in communication. It is understandable, although not justified, that countries with differing customs and cultural barriers or language can have their differences. But that is not an adequate answer, nor does it resolve the problem faced by families, or by the man on the street in his everyday routine. These arguments or fights cause a breakdown in the family, or lead to total chaos in the office or factory. To understand these differences, we have to understand the basic “natural” man. Before we can really understand our neighbor, we first have to understand ourselves. We have to know who we are, why we are here in this world, and where we are going. As an introduction to this chapter, we will take a look at four basic reactions that we all experience.
Human Capacities.
The human being is born with at least four basic capacities given to him by God. They are: to enjoy, suffer, to make decisions, and to see things objectively. These will be studied in more detail a little further into this writing, but for the present, we will look at these reactions one at a time as an introduction to the human temperament.
The first is the capacity to enjoy. This is a very positive experience in life that exists in many people although in some it is more profoundly observed than in others. This is the type of person who sees only the good in life. Surely you have known individuals that always carry a smile on their face, or that are capable of walking down the street whistling, in the midst of a violent rain storm, in spite of the fact they have no umbrella. If you stop to talk with this person, he will say, “Isn't this a beautiful day?" This reaction will appear in the non-worrier type of personality. It is the capacity to enjoy life and shows an emotionally positive nature, generally seen in the extroverted individual.
The second capacity is exactly the opposite. This is the capacity that suffers. There is something inside some people with a strong idealism that makes them suffer if they do not reach their goals and standards which they usually set for themselves. For example, this usually is what motivates those who go on hunger strikes to reach their individualism whether it be political, religious or simply a personal goal. In every day life, it is seen in a different manner. Have you known someone who is continually arguing, or who has to correct the errors of everyone they are around. For example, he goes up to a person and sees a hair on his coat, or whose tie is a little crooked, and he just cannot help himself, he has to straighten the tie, or remove the lent. If it is someone unknown to him, he may suffer, because he wants to fix the situation, but just doesn't have the nerve or will power to do so. It is the same affect, if he walks into someone's house and sees a picture hanging on the wall which is just a little bit crooked. This characteristic is stronger in some people more than others. But it is a negative reaction, based on perfectionism. This can have a great affect and can injure a person's psyche if he lets it get him down, to the point he cannot overcome the worry.
Generally speaking, this is the introverted person. He may react by constantly wearing a frown on his face and leave the impression that he is a very ungrateful person. He will wake up in the morning and his first calamity is that the birds are singing too loudly and interrupts his daily routine. Later he gripes about the rain, and complains because his umbrella will not open. At lunch time there is so much noise in the restaurant he cannot concentrate on reading his newspaper after a terrible lunch that did not set well on his stomach.
There is a third capacity, that is the ability to act, or make choices. This force within him gives him the capability to make decisions, set goals and objectives, and it is all guided by his capacity to make good choices. His actions are also extroverted, and motivation comes by this desire to complete or fulfill his goals. He may be the constant worker, always trying to accomplish more and more work. He doesn't suffer in making decisions. In fact, it is enjoyable for him. He loves the challenge of making a decision. He is not easily sidetracked by unfavorable or unexpected events. To the contrary, he will continue with the task and complete it. He doesn't worry about what others think, and he may be found unaltered when he offends someone because of his seemingly hard nosed manner. He will continue his work actively and without being deterred, come rain or shine.
The fourth capacity is that of being objective. This personality has the ability of perceiving and understanding problems, but does not have the perseverance or even the desire to complete the tasks that he so easily understands. He prefers to observe, feel and watch everybody else do the work, but is not motivated to do it himself. He is overly introverted and tends toward adopting a passive posture. He frequently is slow and indolent, relaxed and never in a hurry. One may shout at him with great excitement and emotion, “get out the house is on fire.” He will look up at the flame with indifference and say, “Hum, I have to go get my hat. This person looks for every opportunity to remain in bed instead of getting up to go to work.
Practical summation
In summing up this chapter, one will want to be able to understand these four capacities, because later, other names will be placed on them. But for now, a simplification is the order of the day. A person with the capacity to enjoy, says “ oh what a beautiful day”. The person that suffers, pessimistically says, “yeah but winter is coming on, and the gas bills are going up. The active decision maker takes all necessary measures to find a solution to the problem. In the summer he installs a new heating system for the arrival of winter and the objective person, the non-worrier just sits back and relaxes and watches the show go on.
So, we conclude that each person at birth receives at least one or two of these capacities, He may possess a mixture of three or perhaps all four. But usually there is one that is dominate in his personality. So each individual will react in his own unique way. With one or more of these traits at work in his being. The environment will also play on the reactions, so that placed in the same situation, two people who possess the same dominate capacity may react differently in a similar or the same situation, but engaged in a different environment. This is how we are able to see our personality at work, and understand our uniqueness and the very special way God made us. He had all these capacities in His plan, long before we were even born.
Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart. Jeremiah 1:5 NIV
Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart. Jeremiah 1:5 NIV
These reactions to life are unforeseeable. It is our privilege and responsibility to recognize these distinct capacities. In one occasion, and individual might react in an extroverted and positive manner, but the next time in a similar or same situation may act introverted and negatively, or may have no reaction at all. Failure of comprehending these actions leads to a breakdown in communication, whether with family, friends or on the job. The fact that the basic personality or capacity of each individual is so different from the other sometimes makes it more difficult to relate and understand each other. It would seem evident, that one will not understand another, if he cannot understand himself.
Take a moment to learn more about yourself,by completing the following exercise. Write on a piece of paper your 10 greatest character strengths and your ten greatest weaknesses. You may choose to call them virtues on the positive side, and defects on the negative. But this little exercise is crucial to understanding yourself.
Chapter 3
Now that you have determined what you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses, probably you will notice that you spent more time writing in your bad traits than you did the good. Man has a tendency to not be honest with himself. But also notice that for each weakness, you have there is a potential for a strength. For every negative there is a positive. There are many people on the earth that although they do not have a personal relationship with Christ, they posses good traits or qualities, naturally. One can possess true love only up to a point. He or she may be a good husband or a good wife, or possibly they are deceitful and possess traits that deceive others into thinking they are good. Maybe everyone around them is a good person, and in reality maybe they are a good person. But under pressure, goodness self destructs. Under the pressures and anxieties, natural goodness is not adequate. Under fire, the good qualities will derail and crash. Under pressure, patience and all other good qualities will break. We must understand and accept the fact that no quality within us is adequate to exist without Christ. That is the reason that God has to fill this great void or vacuum in our lives. But what can we say about the person who believes or says he has not strong natural characteristics. The majority of us do not receive qualities that stand out, and we have a tendency to reject ourselves completely, falling into an inferiority complex. If this is not corrected in time, it can cause emotional sicknesses, which can sometimes lead to grave physical illnesses. One very important reason why we must accept ourselves as God made us, is because God created us in His image. Moreover, He created us for a purpose. That purpose is not to negate or belittle ourselves. Man has a desire within himself of being something he is not, nor can ever be. Maybe it is a goal for wealth or riches, maybe he would like to change his race,color or sex. We must be very careful, because if we could become photo copies of one another only a small part of God would be visible. We limit God's glory when we try to duplicate another person.
We were made in God's image and we were also made for a purpose. Even more, God came to the earth in the form of a man, Jesus Christ, to establish a personal and direct relationship with humanity. To make this possible, He had to die on the cross, and return to life after this cruel death. His death made it possible for us to have that personal relationship with Him That was a great price to pay. The Apostle Peter describes for us the cost for Christ to offer us this personal relationship with Him and to give us true meaning in life when he wrote:
For you not that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed for the empty way of life handed down to you form our fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ a lamb without blemish or defect. 1 Peter 1:18-19
Now that Jesus paid such a high price for our life, we cannot count ourselves as being worthless. If we devalue ourselves, we diminish the value of Christ.
Throughout the Bible, we find that God always wanted to dwell in man. He speaks of that special union that exists when His spirit unites with the spirit of man. If God is content with living in our bodies, why can't we be content? Why can't we accept ourselves in the same way? He accepts us and the way He has made us. Why can't we permit Him to have complete control in our lives? If God is working in our lives through the spirit, we not only can understand and accept ourselves, but can also accept and understand our neighbor. Christ will only come to live in our lives when He receives the invitation. He waits patiently at our door longing and waiting for us to let Him in.
Chapter 4
Introducing the four temperaments
Having learned more about understanding and accepting ourselves and our personality, the way God made us; and after a clear understanding of the four capacities in man, we are now ready to begin a detailed study of the temperaments. This chapter consists of the four temperaments which are paralleled to the four capacities we studied previously. The temperaments by name are:
sanguine, the capacity to enjoy;
melancholic,the capicity that suffers;
choleric, the capacity to make decisions;
phlegmatic, the capacity to see things objectively.
Now, let's take a quick look at the history of these capacities. The earliest recorded information we have about the temperaments came with the ancient astrologers who used twelve constellations in the sky to determine ones behavior. By the way the constellations were aligned in the heavens, and by using four major groupings symbolized by air,earth, water and fire, they believed that they could determine how the movement of the sun, moon, and planets would influence ones behavior patterns and his or her fate. Later the Greeks tried to explain the personality by using what they thought were various colored fluids within the body, and even the blood itself. Around 400BC, Hippocrates, known as the father of medicine developed the concept that said the personality was determined by elements inside your body, not the stars in the heavens. To have a balanced temperament he thought you needed equal amounts of the four body fluids, black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm. He associated these ideas with the four temperaments still studied to this day, known as sanguine, melancholic, choleric and phlegmatic.
During the dark ages, an era of ignorance and superstition, came into the world around 312BC, and nothing more was heard about the temperaments for many years. Later the The Philosopher Immanuel Kant was probably the most influential in Europe to make the study of the temperaments famous. He did updates to the works of Hippocrates but organized them differently. A devastating blow to the theory of the four temperaments came with the life of Sigmund Freud around the first of the 20th century. His investigation and theories in psycho analysis had an electrifying effect on the study of the personalities. Using a distinct view point, Freud and his colleagues presented their obsession with the idea that the environment of man determines his behavior. Instead of the man being responsible for himself and for his conduct, he becomes a victim and escapes the responsibility of his bad conduct. If one is poor, the followers of this theory, place the blame for his poverty on society, because he is is lacking in the things he needs to survive. This concept has not only diminished the innate sense of responsibility, but also has discredited the profitable theory of the temperaments. But if we can establish that man inherits certain characteristics from birth, then this environmental theory falls apart. The study of the four temperaments will attract the Christian, because it is compatible with the scriptures. Just as the Bible teaches us that all men possess a sinful nature from birth, the temperaments teach us that man has weaknesses. A book written in 1962 entitled the Temperament and the Christian faith by a Norwegian , O. Halsby, presents a very detailed study of the the four temperaments Later, another book by Tim Lahaye hit the markets called “Transformed temperaments.” These two books, along with personal notes of the current writer taken from lectures by the late Fred Renich are the basis of this study. Mr. Renich, who was a great writer, philosopher, missionary to China, and a personal mentor, lived an exemplary life of what he taught and believed. At his death, he was found sitting upright in a favorite chair in his study, with his Bible open in his lap. We can think of no greater way a real man of God could be ushered into the kingdom.
Unrolling the Temperaments
A problem with the study of the four temperaments occurs when one carries these capacities to the extreme. It is easy for one to take the definitions of the temperaments, and try to place people in a box, based on what he sees and believes about an individual and his personality. That behavior and action is not advised, because God made each of His children in his own unique way. It is not the purpose of this study to try to categorize others, or make them fit into a box. To do so makes one to be judge, when instead he should realize that these are just four innate capacities that are part of our being. They are recorded into our sub-conscious minds. Each individual is a compendium of these capacities or temperaments, although usually one or two of them are dominate over the other two or three. There is no such thing as one pure temperament, and to try to encase someone into a certain category is a grave error.
Another problem that we should be aware of is that people often tend to think about others through their own personality and experiences. Therefore, the variety increased our tendency to act judiciously instead of just understanding . The value system of a person is developed by one part of the four capacities, and it is not easy to see nor appreciate the system developed in others. This study is designed for one to take a look at, and learn about himself first, then he will be more capable of understanding others. But never should he place himself in a position to categorize someone else. Understanding and accepting the basic variations of the personality is a key to understanding one's self and others. One must take into account the importance of studying reactions of people and not their personality. As an illustration, many men have married seeing a beautiful blond or brunette given to parties and a life of happiness. But once the honeymoon is over, they realize that person is not the happy-go-lucky party goer at all. Why, because reactions in one situation are different than in another. Perhaps before marriage, he or she is the joker, and life of the party in one set of circumstances, but is quite different when settled down in the marriage. The good times they spent together at dances, movies, and ballgames during the courtship, were very much different when each settled into their routines and job situations of daily life. Perhaps after the marriage they realize the mother or father-in-law is very open and fun going but the other is forceful and dominant. This may have greatly influenced the temperament of the young bride or groom. After we understand these different situations and circumstances, we begin to realize that there are two things that God wants and expects of us, if we are his followers. The first is to accept ourselves for who we are, realizing that when we become a follower, the Holy spirit comes to us to work in our lives. Christ can and will use what He has placed in us from birth, if He is the control factor of the id and ego of our lives. Secondly we must balance our temperaments to the point that in no moment we have occasion to violate the law of God. Anyone who is in Christ, has the capacity to keep from going to the extreme. We must allow Christ, through the Holy spirit to give us the balance we need.
Chapter 5
The sanguine temperament
Let us be more specific with defining these four capacities or the the four basic temperaments. The first to be discussed will be that of the sanguine. The word sanguine is used in its philosophical sense, which simply means “to enjoy” It is the same as the capacity to see things in a cheery manner. It responds to the positive and is warm, vibrant and full of life. It is especially receptive to positive impressions in particular. But, these response are more on the emotional level, based predominately on emotions. The sanguine can be a big child emotionally, a charlatan with a fresh, live language ability, but occupied only with the present.
Let's take a look a the positive points that go along with the sanguine temperament. It lives for the present, and as such faces reality head on, at least the reality of the moment. It can enter easily in the lives of others, empathizing with feelings, thoughts interests or problems of the other. Thus it presents itself affable, amiable lovable and kind. One with this capacity may become a good orator, salesman or actor. With his ability to approach people easily, he adapts well in a position of public relations.
We have already established for every positive strength, there is is a negative or weakness. Some of the weaknesses of the excessive sanguine temperament are that they may be intolerant or untrustworthy. He or she may be one who will not follow through on promises he has made, nor complete tasks that he has started. He may be superficial not thinking with logic or depth. He or she may be a charlatan a quick talker in abundance of exaggeration. They may always look at life as a diversion and full of fun instead of being serious. They may be lacking in determination, and power of concentration. They may be restless, and must always be active and busy, although the activity is without purpose. Study for him or her is very difficult. Following you will see a list of strengths compared with weaknesses to illustrate that a negative is a potential positive.
Strengths: Orator, sociable, enthusiastic, passionate, kind and friendly, compassionate, carefree and unconcerned
Weaknesses: noisy, overly emotional, exaggerated,
Strengths: Orator, sociable, enthusiastic, passionate, kind and friendly, compassionate, carefree and unconcerned
Weaknesses: noisy, overly emotional, exaggerated,
superficial, egotistical, undisciplined, untrustworthy
Problematic areas of the sanguine
We must be aware that the sanguine has a problem in fulfilling promises. He promises the moon and provides a mouse. Exaggerative, positive thinking; this is the sanguine, but when it comes to producing results, he is not there. When living to enjoy begins to hurt others, it becomes a sin. The basic structure of this personality explains the sin, but it does not justify it. It is sin to permit reactions of the excessive sanguine to hurt others, and is contradictory to God's will and plan. When the model of the personality hurts others, it is a sin.
We must note that the sanguine often has such a good heart, and enjoys being around people, so much that he or she finds it difficult to say no to anyone. The sanguine may have great talents, but if you expect to get any help or assistance from him, you have to be the last in line of a long group of people to whom he has made promises to help. Because he who is last in line will be the one the sanguine remembers, in spite of the fact that you have previously reminded him of your need or desire for help numerous times. But be very careful in calling the ultra sanguine a liar, or severely judging him for not keeping his promises, even though he may be failing, or letting you down. Instead of judging, try to help him. When one part of the body of Christ has weaknesses, another part is there to fill in the gap, to balance out this deficiency. Balance is the key to helping the weak part of any personality, thus the title for this book, EQUILIBRIUM, emerged. But God does not always correct our personality in the same manner that we think He should. Sometimes He needs to take time to build our character in the form of patience, or some other area of need. God may be correcting this deficiency and sending the opposing personality to his side so that both have the opportunity to grow and help balance out each others temperament. In reality, it may not be a weakness after all, but rather God's way of functioning in the lives He created. We must never forget that although the sanguine may have certain weaknesses, he also has strength and potential strengths which can stem fror the weaknesses.
So how can we help the ultra sanguine? If you live with, work with or are married to an excessive sanguine individual, the first step is to recognize the weakness. The weakness can be compared to “the seed” spoken of in Mark chapter 4 of the shallow soil. The seed heard, received with joy, but for lack of a deeply planted root, it quickly died under the heat of temptation. Others are like the seed sowed among stones or on stony ground. When these heard the word, they received it with joy, but they had no depth of their roots. When tribulation comes or persecution (because of the word,) immediately they suffer. (see Mark 4:16-17.)
You as their friend need to help them learn to live by principle instead of emotions or feelings. Their ideas, which are many are a result of quick inspiration, but may not be well thought through or planned throughly. Don't throw away their ideas, but rather help them to think through the cost and effort, and convince them to follow through on the idea, only after thinking it through carefully, and counting the cost. They will tend to begin a task and not complete it. Therefore help them complete what they begin. You can help them by giving small tasks, in small quantities, which help them with self control. But when they fall, that is the time to give a hand. Emotions work in two different ways. People who are on an emotional high can expect a hard deep fall. When the sanguine falls into melancholic reactions, his mind is more apt to function correctly. It is at that point that he can understand and establish his life's purposes. It is right for a man to provide for his family whether he likes it or not. The scriptures teach us that this is the the right way to act. Some things a man has to do simply because it is the right thing to do. He must act out of principle. It is not only responsibility, but our obligation to fulfill certain disciplines in life life. For example there are passages that say,
"obey your parents because it is right."And parents don't provoke your children to wrath or anger, but rather raise them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Eph. 6:1 and 4 .
“Keep your children in the right path, and when they are old they will not depart from it. Prov. 22:6.
This is the idea of acting on principle instead of emotion. When one wakes up on a melancholy blue Monday, after a sanguine Sunday; he has to assume his responsibility of getting to work on time. He has to put aside his festive preferences and act out of a sense of responsibility. The Bible is a good place to feed ourselves in order to place proper emphasis on the will, and not in the emotional. Any other way the action of a sanguine will be only a time of happiness without moving toward a definite purpose. But keep in mind that one cannot expect from the sanguine, what he does not have the capacity to do. He might need a detail person to work with him in finishing up the work in which he had shown a great vision, and had begun, but was not capable of finishing.
"obey your parents because it is right."And parents don't provoke your children to wrath or anger, but rather raise them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Eph. 6:1 and 4 .
“Keep your children in the right path, and when they are old they will not depart from it. Prov. 22:6.
This is the idea of acting on principle instead of emotion. When one wakes up on a melancholy blue Monday, after a sanguine Sunday; he has to assume his responsibility of getting to work on time. He has to put aside his festive preferences and act out of a sense of responsibility. The Bible is a good place to feed ourselves in order to place proper emphasis on the will, and not in the emotional. Any other way the action of a sanguine will be only a time of happiness without moving toward a definite purpose. But keep in mind that one cannot expect from the sanguine, what he does not have the capacity to do. He might need a detail person to work with him in finishing up the work in which he had shown a great vision, and had begun, but was not capable of finishing.
Chapter 6
The melancholic temperament
Think back to the discussion of the four temperaments. The second of those mentioned is the capacity inside of a person to suffer. This person will react to life's situations in a negative manner. Impressions made on him are seen from an idealistic viewpoint. But since we are products of a fallen world, nothing ever reaches the ideal; and the strong melancholic temperament feels offended and deceived. He struggles against the sad things in life, and fights against those sad introverted feelings. He lives in an unrealistic world, because he has to avoid the hurtful reality of the present. His world is a world of deep thoughts and dreams, instead of action. If his disposition in a given moment can become positive, He will live with the happy memory of the good days of the past, or he may construct air castles for the future. He can very easily escape into the past or thrust himself out into the future. If his disposition is in a negative state, he goes into his shell of self deprecation and sadness because of past sins or hang ups. It may also be true that he has great fears of bad things to come in his future. Being a perfectionist, it is easy for the melancholic to lose faith, not only in himself, but also be suspicious of others around him. Again we have to understand that there are strengths as well as weaknesses in the melancholic temperament, just as we saw in the the sanguine. His strengths are just like those that are seen in the capacity to be a creative thinker. He may become a philosopher, theologian, author, artist, or musical composer. All of these careers seem to be loaded with melancholic personalties. He enters very deeply into whatever task he engages, and that drives him to do the task with excellence, as he strives for perfection. He wants that end result to be perfect. As an analyst, he analyzes and goes into detail in everything he does, but is also aware of his own limitations. One can count on him, and can place complete trust and confidence in what he says. He is very conscientious in all aspects. He is usually amiable and courteous, sensitive to feelings of others and is a very organized person.
His weaknesses are demonstrated in his enthusiasm, passions, and introvertedness. He can be hurt very easily, and even develop a persecution complex. He may easily become spiteful or vengeful, and not easily reconciliatory with others, because in his secret depths, he has not really asked forgiveness, nor forgiven others. Whether real or imagined, there are often deep roots of pain way down inside of him. He can be very pessimistic, proud, impractical, indecisive, idealistic and unsure of himself. Look below to compare his strengths and weaknesses.
Strength: gifted, sensible, perfectionist, idealistic, loyal, sacrificing, analytical.
Weaknesses: proud, anti-social, egocentric, impractical, demanding, negative, critical, vengeful, argumentative, polemic.
But there are ways we can help a person with these deficiencies. In the case of introvertedness, one has to learn how to balance his deep thinking with physical activity. He must confront his idealism face to face and see that he has to be more realistic and practical He has to expose his ideas to the evaluation of people who are doers, activists and creators. He must learn not to rethink decisions he has made and go forward forgetting negative feelings and doubt. He must examine his motives and the causes of his introvertedness. If he is not able to learn these principles he is destined to a life without fruit. The melancholic finds it easy to put off important things. For example, if he is a salesman, he may find difficulty in picking up the phone to make that contact or ring the door bell to try to close a sale. He doesn't want to confront reality, and will pass throughout the day preparing files instead of going out to make the sale.
Weaknesses: proud, anti-social, egocentric, impractical, demanding, negative, critical, vengeful, argumentative, polemic.
But there are ways we can help a person with these deficiencies. In the case of introvertedness, one has to learn how to balance his deep thinking with physical activity. He must confront his idealism face to face and see that he has to be more realistic and practical He has to expose his ideas to the evaluation of people who are doers, activists and creators. He must learn not to rethink decisions he has made and go forward forgetting negative feelings and doubt. He must examine his motives and the causes of his introvertedness. If he is not able to learn these principles he is destined to a life without fruit. The melancholic finds it easy to put off important things. For example, if he is a salesman, he may find difficulty in picking up the phone to make that contact or ring the door bell to try to close a sale. He doesn't want to confront reality, and will pass throughout the day preparing files instead of going out to make the sale.
If you are ultra-melancholic, you can prove it to your self. The next time you are face to face with a decision, chances are you will go through various types of mental gymnastics because you are obligating yourself to make a decision. It might take you three hours to come to a decision on which dress or suit you are going to buy. You go to the store and look, you go home and think about it during lunch, then you go through the checkbook over and over and then you go back to take another look before making that decision to buy.
One thing we must remember. God is not just sitting there on his throne waiting for us to make a mistake or a bad decision so He can beat us over the head. When you must make a decision, think about it, but resist the temptation to think too much. Force yourself into situations in which you must make a decision and practice doing it. Some melancholics, upon arriving at an age of marriage wait three or four years trying to decide if they made a mistake in their choice of mates. The melancholic goes through life suffering and torturing himself in decision making. His long amount of time taken to make a decision is not fruitful.
The second problematic area of the melancholic is deeper, but is related to the first. That is the problem of falling into depression or loss of spirit. He must recognize the deeper cause of his depression and accept the fact that it causes pain to others. Furthermore, he has to recognize that hurting others is a sin. He has to try to advance sanguine characteristics within himself in order to guide him in putting his faith in action. In general, people tend to fall into dispositions of worry or bad moods, and with the melancholic it can easily go to extremes.
A man may get up of a morning and say something bad that strikes his wife in the wrong way. He then goes into a bad mood, and then tries to justify his actions by saying that his wife has said something that bothers him. It might be that he has had this bad mood or even a grudge for a number of days or even weeks, way down deep inside of his being. The same may occur with his colleagues or co-workers. But in reality, it is not what his wife or co-worker has said, that caused this bad reaction, but it might be able to be explained biologically. It is an accepted fact that women have their moments of depression and moods, based on their biological constitution. But men have these biological reactions as well that causes moodiness or depression. These are also caused by the biological composition of men in connection with their reproductive system. Many emotional highs and lows both physically and mentally that cause depression can come if we don't understand this and try to overcome it. These highs and lows can be traced on a calendar, if one takes the time to trace it. But the melancholic, whether male or female, especially in those moments of depression, the least impediment can make him go into his shell. He may then try to justify his anger and emotions, (which in reality we call sin) with the simple reasoning that someone looked at or spoke to him rudely. The problem is not in the circumstances which caused these bad reactions, but rather it is the ego, the you and me. Strong depression might fall on someone who has been hit with sickness or illnesses of different forms which may have come about due to accidents, abuse, sudden deaths of friends or loved ones or problems in their childhood . If that depression is not corrected quickly, it may lead to mental sickness or even suicide. The super-melancholic must come face to face with life, and work at becoming more sanguine.
Thirdly, the melancholic possesses a critical and proud spirit, and needs to work at accepting the imperfection in himself. God accepts his imperfection. Why can't he accept himself. He must concentrate in positive qualities of other's. He must have a balanced perspective in order not to make mountains of mole hills.
The melancholic must overcome his problems, and give over all these negative thoughts in life to the grace of God. He must make them become opportunities for practical faith. Probably the source of his pride is idealism, which he needs to abandon.
How to help the ultra-melancholic
When one has to live with or work with the melancholic, he must take into account that person is confronted with very serious truths. The mind of this man or women will be dominated by memories of his child hood which are indelibly recorded, and refuse to leave. He may have doubts on nearly any subject, and especially in spiritually related subjects. Problematic Bible passages may cause him great worry and anxiety, which may not be easily remedied. Because of doubts, and his critical spirit, it may be difficult for him to work in a team. His natural seriousness keeps him from inspiring others. He frequently feels great insecurity, since he is aware that he does not measure up to the ideal standard he has set for himself. He must be helped to understand that in life he can and will be accepted for who he is, although he has not arrived to his own ideal. If you are helping the ultra-melancholic, don't give him a task that he is not able to do. Remember it is hard for him to make decisions; for that reason, do not obligate him to make heavy decisions. He is lacking in strength to give in to supervisors that are dominant, or critical of his work. Have patience with him, he can be very beneficial, fruitful and productive in his areas of strength. So try to guide him in those areas.
Chapter 7
The choleric temperament.
Since the personalities discussed previously have covered one extroverted and one introverted temperament, the last two may not need to take as much space, as they basically have the same development. The choleric is extroverted and the phlegmatic is introverted. We will see a lot of similarities between the two although they take on different rolls.
We begin with the choleric. This is parallel to the temperament that acts decisively from the will. In the strong choleric person, the will is dominant. The impressions that he feels will be acted out. He faces the real world. Although we do not intend to categorize the personality of the Apostle Paul, a choleric action is found in the book of Acts.
Meanwhile, Saul continued to oppose the Lord's followers. He said they would be put to death. He went to the high priest. He asked the priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus. He wanted to find men and women who belonged to the Way of Jesus. The letters would allow him to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. Acts 9:1-2
The Choleric is a personality of action. They make decisions easily and quickly, just like an executive. He or she will usually be the sales executive, or aggressive politician. Usually they will be leaders in the field of their choice. They will be very goal conscious, but their goals and related activities are set, with themselves at the center of those activities. Lets take a look at the positives and the negatives, of this temperament.
Strengths: strong will, determination, independent, optimistic, productive, decisive, confident.
Weaknesses: angry, sarcasm, self-sufficient, inconsiderate, proud, arrogant, deceitful.
The choleric is a practical person and lives in the present to reach his goals. He is astute, audacious, bold and fearless in his actions. But he can be brutish and even hurtful to others in the effort of completing his tasks. He sees emotions as weaknesses. He does not always practice self control, and in extreme cases, he can be vehement or violent. His behavior can be very cold blooded at times. Other personalities tend to fear the strong choleric. He is not interested in theory or the abstract except when it applies to the tangible. His feelings of self sufficiency keep him from realizing and understanding his own needs. But once he becomes involved in an idea, he gives himself completely and resolutely. On the other hand, to get along with others he must be willing to soften his spirit, and accept others more easily, being more tolerant of them.
Problem areas of the choleric
The choleric will continually fight four battles. The first battle is that of developing esteem, affection, and sympathy to those weaker than himself. He must recognize the value of the emotions in life and to accept the fact that meekness and humility are not weaknesses. This will help him to force himself to ask forgiveness when he has hurt others. He must learn to dedicate a portion of time each day to Bible study and prayer to feed the deepest part of his being. The same of course can be said of all the temperaments, but the choleric must concentrate on passages like the following to guide him to humility.
So he said to me, "A message came to Zerubbabel from the Lord. He said, 'Your strength will not get my temple rebuilt. Your power will not do it either. Only the power of my Spirit will do it,' says the Lord who rules over all.
Zachariah 4:6
"Blessed are those who are spiritually needy. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Blessed are those who are sad. They will be comforted. Blessed are those who are free of pride. They will be given the earth. Matthew 5:3-5
"Come to me, all of you who are tired and are carrying heavy loads. I will give you rest. Become my servants and learn from me. I am gentle and free of pride. You will find rest for your souls Matthew 11:28-29
Don't do anything only to get ahead. Don't do it because you are proud. Instead, be free of pride. Think of others as better than yourselves.
Philippians 2:3
The second battle to overcome is pride, confidence in excess, and the desire for power. He must learn to express esteem and put himself under the direction of others, looking for opinions even though they may be weaker than his own.
The second battle to overcome is pride, confidence in excess, and the desire for power. He must learn to express esteem and put himself under the direction of others, looking for opinions even though they may be weaker than his own.
The third battle is that of having a tendency of putting excessive emphasis on material gain. This may require that he reestablishes his value system by listening to God's Word.
What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses his soul? Or what can anyone trade for his soul? Matthew 16:26
The fourth battle is the battle against causing divisions. He has temptations to break chains with a team and go alone when they do not go along with his ideas or see things his way. He needs to humble himself before God realizing that Christ uses the whole body and that one member alone cannot run ahead of every one else. God is not only interested in completing the task, but he also wants to develop our personality and being at the same time.
It is very difficult to assess, counsel or give advice to the ultra-choleric temperament. It will be hard for him to work with or even get along with those who are slower, fearful or inconsistent. He will feel frustration in associating with any temperament that will slow him down from accomplishing things. He responds to strong personalities and will more quickly accept the direction of those that show they are quick decision makers and are conscious of his goals. It is difficult for him to ever admit that he is wrong about anything, or to accept a defeat.
Chapter 8
The Phlegmatic temperament
The phlegmatic temperament goes parallel with the capacity to see objectively. It is known as the temperament that rests. It reacts to the calm environment, intellectual observations and evaluation. Since man is an intellectual being, as well as emotional and volitional, he is capable of observing and thinking about life, without getting involved in it. The intense phlegmatic sees life from an intellectual view point, without getting emotionally involved. Again we make some comparisons of strengths and weakness.
Strengths: calm, serene, trustworthy, effective, indigent, conservative, pragmatic, humorous.
Weaknesses: lazy, slow decisive needy, expectant self protective, without motivation.
Generally they will be good diplomats, accountants, or technical professors. They are especially adequate at routine tasks such as investigation counselors, moderating and supervising seminars and meetings. They are calm, tranquil, agreeable, confident and practical. They have the ability complete tasks, because they remain objective and non-emotional.
Complications do not bother them. In comparison to the other temperaments, the phlegmatic works very easily, understands better, makes plans more easily and with less energy. Their weaknesses are found in slowness, and in effect reacting negatively toward anxious or emotional minds. They are very slow, almost to the point of laziness, and tend to withdraw from dominate forces. They can be cold, passive, and loathsome, hostile to or have no appetite for what they consider to be mundane pleasures. They may be opportunistic, looking for comfort and ease, instead of what may be better for those involved.
Complications do not bother them. In comparison to the other temperaments, the phlegmatic works very easily, understands better, makes plans more easily and with less energy. Their weaknesses are found in slowness, and in effect reacting negatively toward anxious or emotional minds. They are very slow, almost to the point of laziness, and tend to withdraw from dominate forces. They can be cold, passive, and loathsome, hostile to or have no appetite for what they consider to be mundane pleasures. They may be opportunistic, looking for comfort and ease, instead of what may be better for those involved.
Problematic areas of the phlegmatic
The pragmatics's struggles will be against the love for quietness and complacency, and concentration on self. They must learn to carry themselves in subjection to the will, in order not to be lazy. They are tempted toward physical indolence, with real fear of being over exerted. To help one overcome his or her problem, try to get them to get up earlier, and learn how to do physical tasks for others, attempting to complete them rapidly. Help them make an effort to get into physical exercise programs. In their battle against complacency, they must be aware that this coldness and lack of concern can be sin. They must deliberately demonstrate love by and request help from others, in the same manner, as they give themselves to others. They must try to move toward choleric and sanguine characteristics and try make them become a part of their character. And just as the other temperaments, they need to be understood. So be ready to help them overcome their weaknesses in order to balance the good in them.
How to help the ultra phlegmatic
When one works with the phlegmatic, he must take notice of the fact that they are inclined to be righteous with in themselves. Speak easily and philosophically but avoid personal complications. You may need to shock them with eternal realities. When they accept the ideas of other's religion, or political viewpoints, etc., generally they are very sure and convinced although they might not respond in the same manner as others in the group. They will not adapt well to positions that require expressive enthusiasm, interpersonal warmth, or praises. They may be able to research and prepare a great message, but need someone else to present it. They also may have problems completing deadlines, so be careful of giving work that needs to be completed timely.
Chapter 9
Discovering and balancing your own temperament
It will be useful to review and make comparisons of the temperaments to help you better understand your own temperament. Take a look at a few comparisons, as an example, then try compare the others on your own. Below is a comparison of the sanguine to the melancholic. The sanguine looks outward and is incapable of concentrating He is not selective but enjoys life and accepts people as they are always living in the present.
The melancholic looks inward, concentrates very deeply and is very selective. He suffers in life because he sees life from the ideal and usually
lives in the past or in the future.
The sanguine being emotional enjoys life. The melancholic being emotional struggles in life. The choleric with his will fights to change life, and the phlegmatic with his intellect accepts life.
Our major objective having once discovered the distinct personalities is to to try to avoid calamities. If you are at a party, relax and enjoy yourself, but don't make a fool of yourself as an overly sanguine may be tempted to do. But at the same time, don't be a kill joy, and keep everyone else from enjoying the party if you are overly melancholic. Don't carry your work to the party as the choleric might, but then don't go to sleep as does the overly phlegmatic.
In Christ, we have an example of the only person to ever live who has demonstrated a perfect balance of the four temperaments. Christ showed his sanguine temperament in his sermon on the mount when he said in Matthew 5,
Blessed are the peacemakers. All was peace and tranquility, happiness, and blessings. But He also knew how to balance the sanguine with the melancholic when he wept over Jerusalem in Matthew 23. There are times we must try to be a bit melancholic and balance the the sanguine with the melancholic. Christ demonstrated choleric moments when he marched into the temple and threw out the money changers. He had a work to do, and he knew he had to be forceful to set the example. Christ also demonstrated traits of the phlegmatic when he departed from his disciples to rest and to be alone with the father to pray for his followers. We too need to try to practice putting our personalities in balance as did the Master Teacher.
Blessed are the peacemakers. All was peace and tranquility, happiness, and blessings. But He also knew how to balance the sanguine with the melancholic when he wept over Jerusalem in Matthew 23. There are times we must try to be a bit melancholic and balance the the sanguine with the melancholic. Christ demonstrated choleric moments when he marched into the temple and threw out the money changers. He had a work to do, and he knew he had to be forceful to set the example. Christ also demonstrated traits of the phlegmatic when he departed from his disciples to rest and to be alone with the father to pray for his followers. We too need to try to practice putting our personalities in balance as did the Master Teacher.
Practical consequences
A good understanding of the temperaments can help one to understand himself and others much better. It will help him to understand his own temperament, thus helping him to complete his goals in life. It will assist him in understanding his gift, and his choice of fields for his career and to be able to get along and work with others.
In this small study, we have spoken more about psychology than about a personal relationship with Christ. But in the following segment and the remainder of the book, we want to go into more depth about our faith, and how it fits into the personalities. Also apart from the relationship we have with Him, we must realize we live with and work with other people who also have had a personal relationship with Christ. That group then forms a body of diverse gifts and responsibilities to work together for a higher cause. The Apostle Paul spoke of this body in the following fashion:
One Body but Many Parts
I Corinthians 12:12-26 says: There is one body. But it has many parts. Even though it has many parts, they make up one body. It is the same with Christ. 13 We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit into one body. It didn't matter whether we were Jews or Greeks, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. 14 The body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts. 15 Suppose the foot says, "I am not a hand. So I don't belong to the body." It is still part of the body. 16 And suppose the ear says, "I am not an eye. So I don't belong to the body." It is still part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? 18 God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be. 19 If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body? 20 As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body. 21 The eye can't say to the hand, "I don't need you!" The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22 In fact, it is just the opposite. The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are the ones we can't do without. 23 The parts that we think are less important we treat with special honor. The private parts aren't shown. But they are treated with special care. 24 The parts that can be shown don't need special care. But God has joined together all the parts of the body. And he has given more honor to the parts that didn't have any. 25 In that way, the parts of the body will not take sides. All of them will take care of each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares in its joy.
It is impossible to find your place in the body of Christ if Christ is not the control factor in filling the great vacuum in your life. If He is the control, the above verses will make sense and will play a double role in your life. It will help you see that just as the parts of the body have to have balance to work together so do the temperaments. Secondly, it will help you understand the importance of your gift, and working within the body of Christ as a team. Just as no part of the body is more important than any other, neither is there any gift more important than the other. It is vital that we understand ourselves and our personality, in order to understand our gifts. No matter what our goals and gifts in the body may be, we have to work together.
Making the balance
Christ as the control factor wants and expects balanced reactions from us at differing moments and in different situations. Notice how He worked with distinct personalities and reacted differently in differing settings when he met with people in their own levels of growth.To a confused theologian, Nicodemus, Christ said, “ you must be born again". To the woman at the well, a peasant outcast, he said, “I will give you living water. To a rich and sophisticated young ruler, “You have too much wealth.” And to Peter, a lowly fisherman, he simply said, “follow me.” Christ knew how to deal with each personality exactly in the way he knew would communicate to them. He met them where they were in their journey and He walked with them. Christ knows how to treat us today, regardless of the level of understanding we have achieved. He has the same good news to help each one of us fill our empty vessels and to find purpose and meaning in life. Take a look at the steps we must take to let Him take control of our lives and to balance our temperaments.
1. God has a marvelous plan for each of us.
John 3:16 "God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
2. Man was born into sin, and death came upon man as the result; death through Adam, life through Christ.
Romans 5:12 Sin entered the world because one man sinned. And death came because of sin. Everyone sinned, so death came to all people.
Romans 5:12 Sin entered the world because one man sinned. And death came because of sin. Everyone sinned, so death came to all people.
3. All men of all ages has sinned.
Romans 3:23 Everyone has sinned. No one measures up to God's glory.
4. We all have to pay for our sins.
Romans 6:23 When you sin, the pay you get is death. But God gives you the gift of eternal life because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done
5. Christ wants to fill our spiritual vacuum.
Revelation 3:20 'Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If any of you hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with you. And you will eat with me.
Say with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord." Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved. With your heart you believe and are made right with God. With your mouth you say that Jesus is Lord. And so you are saved. Scripture says, "The one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."— Romans 10:9-11 (Isaiah 28:16)
Say with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord." Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved. With your heart you believe and are made right with God. With your mouth you say that Jesus is Lord. And so you are saved. Scripture says, "The one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."— Romans 10:9-11 (Isaiah 28:16)
12 There is no difference between those who are Jews and those who are not. The same Lord is Lord of all. He richly blesses everyone who calls on him. 13 Scripture says, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."— Romans 10:12-13 (Joel 2:32)
When we open the door of our lives, That is when He gives us new birth. The same type of birth Jesus wanted to give to Nicodemus. He will give living water when we seek His face, and He will fill that great vacuum. When we receive Him in salvation, there will be a renewing of the mind. Call it whatever you will, new birth, new life, salvation experience, born again, but that is what has to happen before we can find real peace that we look and long for so desperately. This is what must happen before we can really understand ourselves, or anyone else. We have to open the door to our heart.
Chapter 10 Conclusion
It may be that as a result of this study, you have let God fill the vacuum in your life. But it is also possible that you have not, or are not letting Him control your life completely. In other words, although you may have permitted the Spirit of God to come and dwell in your life, the self, the ego may still be in control. Therefore we have given you some ideas of how you can let God's spirit control you.
In John 15:5 Christ tells us: I am the vine. You are the branches. If anyone remains joined to me, and I to him, he will bear a lot of fruit. You can't do anything without me.
To remain in Christ means to follow, to continue or be consistent and permanent. Christ tells us if we remain in Him, just like a branch remains attached to the vine, that we will bear much fruit. And what does that mean? The Apostle Paul in writing to the Galatians speaks of the fruit of the Spirit. He also explains what the fruit or good results will be if we live in the Spirit, and the results of trying to live without the Spirit. Without the spirit, the natural man or ego has control of the individual. Instead of living with fruit, He is living in the flesh.
Living by the Holy Spirit's Power
Galatians 5:16-24. So I say, live by the Holy Spirit's power. Then you will not do what your sinful nature wants you to do.17 The sinful nature does not want what the Spirit delights in. And the Spirit does not want what the sinful nature delights in. The two are at war with each other. That's what makes you do what you don't want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the authority of the law. 19 What the sinful nature does is clear. It enjoys sexual sins, impure acts and wild living. 20 It worships statues of gods. It also worships evil powers. It is full of hatred and fighting. It is full of jealousy and fits of anger. It is interested only in getting ahead. It stirs up trouble. It separates people into their own little groups. 21 It wants what others have. It gets drunk and takes part in wild parties. It does many things of that kind. I warn you now as I did before. People who live like that will not receive God's kingdom. 22 But the fruit the Holy Spirit produces is love, joy and peace. It is being patient, kind and good. It is being faithful 23 and gentle and having control of oneself. There is no law against things of that kind. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed their sinful nature to his cross. They don't want what their sinful nature loves and longs for.
When we permit Christ to fill the vacuum, our inner man, He gives us pardon peace, joy, and purpose in life as well as real confidence. To the measure that we give ourselves to the Spirit's control, We become full and complete in Him. The same spirit of God can solve our problems of depression and fear, and give us a deep settled peace we are all searching for.
Living in the fruit of the Spirit our Lives are filled with: love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith meekness, temperance. Without that fruit, our lives are filled with: lust of the flesh adultery, fornication uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revelings.
If you have doubts or questions about this study, or if you would like personal help in your relationship with Christ, feel free to contact me by e-mail at: dockcaton@gmail.com
Hi Dock, I'm on your list.
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