Galilee College. Creative Temperament Analysis (CTA)

Transcription

1 Galilee College Creative Temperament Analysis (CTA) Galilee Corporate Centre Joe Farrington Road P.O. Box EE Nassau, Bahamas Tel. (242) /7 Fax (242) galilee@mail.com

2 The Temperaments The Sanguine The Choleric The Melancholy The Phlegmatic The Supine Creative Temperament Analysis CONTENTS 2

3 Chapter 1 Introduction to the Temperaments Chapter 2 - Strengths of the Four Temperaments Chapter 3 - Weaknesses of Each Temperament Chapter 4 Sanguine Peter Chapter 5 Choleric Paul Chapter 6 Melancholic Moses Chapter 7 - Phlegmatic Abraham Chapter 8 New Found Temperament The Supine Chapter 9 Supine Judas Iscariot Chapter 10 How to Overcome the Weaknesses of Each Temperament Chapter 11 How to Be Filled With the Holy Spirit 3

4 Chapter 1 - Introduction Over 2500 years ago Hippocrates (& a Greek Philosopher and Doctor - called the Father of Modern Medicine), discovered that there were four of people. Five hundred years later a Greek Doctor, Galen, came up with a list of strengths and weaknesses for each of these four temperaments that is STILL POPULAR in Europe today!!! However, Sigmund Freud came up with a view that bases human behavior on environment and a person s background, refuting the fact that temperament is inherited!!! And, since the early 1960 s Behavioral Psychology has been the predominate theory taught in American Colleges. Temperament is the God-given, inborn nature of each person determining how he or she interacts and reacts with people, circumstances, environments, situations, and the world. Temperament is who we are on the inside, what the Bible calls the inner man (or woman, God is not talking gender here). The National Christian Counselors Association, in the early 1980s, conducted seven years of research involving 5,000 people in regards to temperament. The research is still continuing. It is now possible, through the use of the Temperament Analysis Profile Report (renamed the Arno Profile System in honor of Drs. Arno who were intimately involved in this research), to determine a person s temperament and their temperament needs accurately and scientifically. When a person s temperament needs are being met by healthy and godly means, stress, anxiety and the problems related to stress and anxiety are greatly reduced. Some of the problems directly connected to stress and anxiety are: depression, dissatisfaction, loneliness, fear, frustration, anger, marriage and family problems, poor work performance, exhaustion and inter/intra personal conflicts. Even the American Medical Association has stated that 80% of physical ailment is stress related. Dr. Rick is convinced Temperament Therapy is God s gift to the church to help people in the area of counseling. Temperament Therapy is Bible based and Christ-centered. He is also convinced that relationship problems are all temperament rooted and has yet to find a problem, great or small, that cannot be solved with Temperament Therapy. 4

5 The Building Blocks of Life Temperament is a combination of inborn traits that sub-consciously affect all our behavour. And it is as much inherited as the color of our eyes etc. Character is the real you!!! I Peter 3:4 calls it the hidden person of the heart. It is your natural temperament that has been modified by your childhood training, education, family, attitudes, belief system, principles, and motivation. Character is what you really are when no one else is around and you have the liberty to do what you really want to do!!! Someone once said that your character really comes our best when you are put under stress and have to make dicisions!!!!! Personality is the OUTWARD expression of oneself and it may or may not be identical with a person s character, depending on how genuine & transparent a person is!!! Personality can be nothing more than a pleasing façade that we put on!!! Sometimes we are just acting a part of what we want people to see!!! THIS CAUSES MENTAL & SPIRITUAL CHAOS!!! You can develop your CHARACTER, improve your PERSONALITY, BUT it is doubtful that you can ever change your temperament!!! Modify, YES, change, no!!! Yield to the Holy Spirit teaching & maturity, YES, but change the real you NO!!! HOW DID YOU DO ON THE TEST? To help us, let s look at the STRENGTHS of each of the four Temperaments!!!!!!!! You should always identify your temperament by the strengths only!!! Maybe you will revise your test!!! Maybe you will be able to identify, by the end of this Lesson, that you have a primary and a secondary temperament!!!! ACTUALLY THERE ARE 12 DIFFERENT BLENDS!!! But that is for another study!!! Remember, the real purpose of this series of study is to learn the weaknesses of each of the 4-Temperaments, and how to overcome them!!! CAUTION: Knowing your temperament may explain your behavior but it never excuses it!!! 5

6 Chapter 2 - Strengths of the Four Temperaments 1. SANGUINE: On the test: talkative; outgoing; enthusiastic; warm; personable; friendly; compassionate; carefree. He is carefree and full of hope makes many promises that are hard to keep very sociable given to pranks he is contented difficult to give up his sins easily fatigued and bored by his work!!! ENJOYING no one enjoys life more than a Sanguine!!! Some refer to them as SPARKEY SANGUINE. They never seem to lose their child-like curiosity!!! Their emotions are so receptive to their environment that even the unpleasant things in life can be easily forgotten by simply changing their environment!!! They are very often early risers and wake up in a lively mood!!! They whistle or sing their way through life, because they focus and maintain happy thoughts!!! When they get bored, they quickly turn to something else that interests them!!! OPTIMISTIC They seem to have a God-given ability to live in the present!!! They easily forget the past including failures, disappointments, and heartaches. And, they don t get bogged down, frustrated or fearful by the future, BECAUSE they just don t give the future much thought!!! They live for the present & are naturally optimistic!!! They are so optimistic that they don t plan much for tomorrow!!! They feel that tomorrow will be just as good as today!!! No advance planner here!!! They are easily encouraged to start new projects!!! They are so outgoing and positive, they always take people along with them, because people love to be around them!!! If a project fails, they are always ready to start something new, because they just know that it WILL succeed!!! FRIENDLY The outgoing, handshaking, touching manner of the Sanguine stems from their genuine love for people!!! They enjoy being around others and love making new friends!!! They will go out of their way to include a stranger or rejected person in a party or plans!!! People just love being around these happy go lucky Sanguines!!! COMPASSIONATE Sanguines have tender compassionate hearts!!! They are the first to respond to a need!!! They come across to others as insincere because they can change moods quickly, depending on the person they are around!!! No one can love you more or forget you faster than a Sanguine!!! The world is blessed by these cheerful and responsive Sanguines!!! They spread joy wherever they go with their infectious spirit!!! 6

7 2. CHOLERIC: On the test: strong willed; determined; independent; optimistic; practical; productive; decisive; a leader; confident. H e is hot headed easily riled up-but easily calms down gets annoyed without lasting hostility He is not persistent enough He stays busy He prefers to give orders he love recognition and praise. He is full of pride and self-love. He suffers most when others reject him or is ideas. He is the least happy of the four!!! STRONG WILLED Cholerics are strong willed, self-disciplined, and have a powerful tendency toward self-determination!!! They are VERY confident in their own ability and are very aggressive people!!! They are continual-motion people, but, their activity is usually well planned and purposeful!!! Once they start a project, they have the tenacity that keeps them on track and driving toward completion!!! Sometimes they think their methods or plans are better than others but, in reality, their success in a project is usually because of their determination and never give up attitude NOT because of their superiority!!! PRACTICAL Everything in life is considered in light of its practical use or purpose!!! A Choleric is happiest when involved in some worth-while project!!! The Choleric has a keen mind for organization BUT find detail work distressing!!! They can quickly appraise a situation and diagnose the most practical solution. They are decision makers and most of their decisions are reached by their inborn intuition more than their analytical reasoning or research!!! LEADER Cholerics have strong leadership tendencies but their strong wills tend to dominate people!!! They make good judges of people, they are quick and bold in emergency situations, and are not afraid of leadership positions!!! If a leadership position is not offered to them, they will readily volunteer for it!!! They are typically know as take charge people, AND IF, they do not become arrogant or bossy, others will respond to their practical direction and leadership!!! OPTIMISTIC Their optimism comes from a natural inborn self-confidence!!! They just know they can do it!!! They are so adventuresome that they will leave a secure position for a new challenge of even the unknown, because of their natural pioneering spirit!!! When appraising a new situation, they rarely see the pitfalls or potential problems!!! Instead, they simply keep their eyes on the goal!!! They have an unshakable self-confidence that NO MATTER WHAT comes up, THEY will be able to solve any problem!!! Adversity or conflict does not 7

8 discourage them, it merely serves to whet their appetite and makes them MORE DETERMINED to achieve success!!! 3. MELANCHOLY: On the test: gifted (high IQ), analytical, sensitive, perfectionist, aesthetic, idealistic, loyal, self-sacrificing. They see anxiety and a problem in everything does not make promises easily because he intends to keep his word!!! He is worried, cautious, suspicious, and thoughtful. He is not a happy person!!! SENSITIVE - Melancholies have the richest and most sensitive nature!!! They usually have high IQ s and are very creative and naturally gifted!!! Almost all of the world s great geniuses were Melancholies!!! They excel in the Fine Arts because of their keen appreciation for life s cultural values!!! They are emotionally responsive, BUT, they internalize their feelings!!! They often let their emotions (GOOD or BAD) influence their thinking!!! They are very adept at creative thinking and when on a high emotional peak will be most likely to come up with a new idea, invention, or creative production!!! PERFECTIONIST They have very high perfectionist tendencies and their standard of excellence and their requirements for acceptability are so high they are often impossible for anyone (even God Himself) to attain or achieve!!! This includes themselves!!! They tend to relive past events and decisions, thinking of how they couldda, wouldda, shouldda, done things even better, and if they had another opportunity, they could do it much better!!! The great analytical tendencies combined with their perfectionist tendencies make them an ideal hound for details. When a Sanguine or Choleric suggest a new idea, it s the Melancholy that can quickly analyze it for a few moments and then point out every potential problem!!! Because of this talent and ability they have they are often thought to be always against things!!! But actually it is only because they can objectively look at things and see the pitfalls, and to them they are just being realistic. FAITHFUL FRIEND Melancholies do not have to work at being a friend, it is completely natural to them!!! They never have a large number of friends, but, they will keep those that they do attract!!! A melancholy would literally lay down his life for his friend!!! 8

9 SELF-SACRIFICING Melancholies can always be counted and depended on to finish a job!!! They will always carry their share of the load!!! They do not seek the limelight, they prefer the behind the scenes jobs!!! They are driven by a desire to give themselves for the betterment of mankind!!! Melancholies know their limitations and will rarely take on more than they can do!!! They are prone to be reserved people and NEVER volunteer for anything!!! BUT, they almost always have an opinion of how things ought to be done!!! And when they give their opinion it shows that they have given it much thought!!! They usually do not waste words, but are usually very precise in saying exactly what they mean!!! 4. Phlegmatic: On the test: Calm; easy-going; dependable; efficient; conservative; practical; leader; diplomat; humorous. Lack of emotion, but not lazy warms up to an idea slowly acts on principle not instinct he is reasonable in dealing with other people. WITTY Phlegmatics have an unexcited good humor and can see humor in the most mundane situations!!! They have a DRY sense of humor. While they keep a straight face, they have others rolling in the aisles!!! They don t tell one old joke after another, they just say funny things!!! Most of the stand-up comics are Phlegmatics!!! DEPENDABLE They are Mr. Dependable personified!!! They are always cheerful and good natured!!! They will always fulfill their obligations and time schedules!!! They always do the proper and expected thing!!! The are faithful friends, but, they tend not to get too involved with others!!! But, they are rarely disloyal!!! Phlegmatics are highly qualified to be good counselors!!! They have a slow easy-going manner about them that makes it easy for them to listen!!! They are very objective people and do not blurt out advice, instead they give thoughtful counsel that is worth hearing!!! EFFICIENT Phlegmatics are practical, efficient, and well organized!!! They conserve their own energy by thinking and planning ahead and analyzing a situation ahead of time and having a solution already thought out!!! They are great thinkers!!! They do not make sudden decisions based on their emotions!!! They want to find a practical way to do something with the least amount of effort!!! 9

10 They work well under pressure!!! In fact they often do their best work under circumstances that would cause other Temperaments to crack!!!! They are real neat freaks and highly efficient, and even though they are not perfectionists, they do have high standards of accuracy and precision!!! Their desk is always neat and clean!!! Because to them having a place for everything and then putting everything into its exact spot is much easier and less time consuming in the long run!!! Even as a child, they like neatness and order!!! SUMMARY: No one TEMPERAMENT IS more DESIRABLE than any other!!! Each has its own strengths!!! Now, determine your primary Temperament based on the strengths!!! You will be tempted to change your mind once you find out what the weaknesses are!!! DON T DO IT!!! Strengths carry corresponding weaknesses SO be objective with yourself. We will face our weaknesses realistically and seek God s help in overcoming them!!! SOME FUN SAMPLES: THE WAY THEY DRIVE: Sanguine: erratic first slow then fast-then slow-they are people oriented so they must look at you while they drive, this can be dangerous!!! Being super talkers, they spend little time watching where they are going!!! Choleric: they are daring speed demons who dart in and out of traffic constantly!!! They always try to get more done in any amount of time so they have to drive fast to make up time they have lost!!! Melancholy: When they leave home, they ve prepared for the trip well in advance!!! They study the map and know all the best routes to take!!! They tend to keep a log of all their driving history including gas and oil consumption, all auto repair bills, etc!!! They are legalist by nature, so they very rarely stop and usually drive one MPH under the speed limit, just to be sure!! (In the left hand high speed lane, refusing to get over for the faster cars)!!! Phlegmatic: The slowest driver of all!!! He s the LAST one to take off at an intersection!!! Rarely changes lanes. He is the pokey Sunday driver, seven days a week!!! Hardly ever gets a ticket and rarely has an accident. 10

11 THE WAY THEY DO YARDWORK: Sanguine: Gets up early Saturday morning to fix the yard. He lines up all his tools (he has every gadget on the market because he lacks sales resistance), but within 20 minutes his wife doesn t hear a sound outside, he is down the street talking with a neighbor for hours. So he orders the son to put all the tools away and decides to fix the yard next week!!! Choleric: He HATES yard work!!! So when he does it, he does it with a vengeance in a frenzied pace!!! Not mechanical by nature and hates pruning or repairs!!! Neatness is not his hallmark!!! Never let him prune hedges, bushes, or trees, his philosophy, do it for the whole year!!! You can always tell a Cholerics yard, just look for the hedges, bushes and trees that are chopped down to miniature size!!! Melancholy: A natural for growing things!!! Usually has the BEST yard in the whole neighborhood!!! He talks to and babies his plants!!! And most any week end he will be on his hands and knees manicuring his lawn and hedges!!! Phlegmatic:He is still in the house on Saturday morning sipping on his third, or 10 th, cup of coffee!!! He is capable of superior lawn care but, his desire to rest and take it easy is overcome by his drive to do the right thing and do the old yard work!!! THE WAY THEY EAT: Sanguine: Eats everything in sight!!! They almost never look at the menu in a restaurant until the waitress comes to take the order!!! He is too busy talking!!! Choleric: Their menu seldom varies!!! When their food arrives, they bolt it down in big gulps and chunks, often talking while chewing!!! They are most usually the first one finished eating!!! Melancholy: They are VERY picky eaters!!! It takes them FOREVER to make up their minds at a restaurant!!! When their food arrives, they savor every bite!!! Phlegmatic: They are the most deliberate eaters!!! Always the last one done at the table!!! They rarely gain weight!!! Medical experts advise overweight people to eat slowly because it takes 20 minutes before food shuts off the hunger pains!!! This is NOT a problem for Phlegmatic!!!! BALANCING THE CHECKBOOK: Sanguine: They rarely can find it at all!!! Don t write in the amounts or checks written. Don t balance their accounts so bounce checks!!! I ve never met a Sanguine Accountant!!! Choleric: Cholerics HATE details!!! They assign or hire someone to take care of their checkbook OR they will have two accounts, using one for six months, then the other for six months, so they don t bounce checks!!! 11

12 Melancholy: Usually put EVERYTHING on a computer. Keep a rigid Budget. They know exactly what everything cost them and whether or not it has been profitable!!! Phlegmatic: They are accurate bookkeepers!!! Keep excellent records!!! Will always balance to the penny!!!! REVIEW OF FOUR TEMPERAMENT STRENGTH 1. SANGUINE: They are: talkative; outgoing; enthusiastic; warm; personable; friendly; compassionate; carefree. He is carefree and full of hope makes many promises that are hard to keep very sociable given to pranks he is contented difficult to give up his sins easily fatigued and bored by his work!!! 2. CHOLERIC: They are: strong willed; determined; independent; optimistic; practical; productive; decisive; a leader; confident. H e is hot headed easily riled up-but easily calms down gets annoyed without lasting hostility He is not persistent enough He stays busy He prefers to give orders he loves recognition and praise. He is full of pride and self-love. He suffers most when others reject him or is ideas. He is the least happy of the four temperaments!!! 3. MELANCHOLY: They are: gifted (high IQ), analytical, sensitive, perfectionist, aesthetic, idealistic, loyal, self-sacrificing. They see anxiety and a problem in everything does not make promises easily because he intends to keep his word!!! He is worried, cautious, suspicious, and thoughtful. He is not a happy person!!! 4. Phlegmatic: On the test: Calm; easy-going; dependable; efficient; conservative; practical; leader; diplomat; witty humor. Lack of emotion, but not lazy warms up to an idea slowly acts on principle not instinct he is reasonable in dealing with other people. Well organized, neat-freaks!!! SUMMARY: No one TEMPERAMENT IS more DESIRABLE than any other!!! Each has its own strengths!!! We will face our weaknesses realistically and seek God s help in overcoming 12

13 them!!! Next week we will begin a study of Bible Characters in the four temperaments and how each overcame their weaknesses, even though they never changed their basic temperament!!! 13

14 Chapter 3 - WEAKNESSES OF EACH TEMPERAMENT 1. THE SANGUINE: 1. Restless: Their boundless activity and energy is nothing more than restless movement!!! They are often impractical and disorganized!!! Because they are basically emotional creatures, they are instantly excited about things, but can also be instantly lose their interest in things!!!! They are prone to jump to conclusions and not get all the facts first and just start off doing something in life to only find out later that their ladder of success was against the wrong wall at the beginning!!! Even though they are bright people, they do not make very good students Because of their mental restlessness!!! These people even find it hard to concentrate while having devotions and reading the Word of God!!! They are the ones voted MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED in High School or College, yet many end up failures in life, because they are driven by their weaknesses not strengths!!! Unless they learn discipline at some point in their life, they are prone to run from one tangent to the other becoming unproductive and failing to measure up to their true potential!!! 2. Weak Willed: Many times the fantastic, powerful, and dynamic personality of the Sanguine is just a façade that covers up their weak character!!! A Sanguines basic problem is that they are weak willed and undisciplined!!! They have an enormous need to be loved, approved, and liked by everyone and frequently they will compromise their core beliefs, just to gain these things!!! Page 4 They are great at starting NEW things BUT, never finish them!!! If they are asked to do a job, their first reaction is YES!!! Without thinking or praying about it at all!!! They love to please but, do not know their limitations!!! They function well as front men, or platform personalities, but they have a strong need for people reaction and input, and don t have time for adequate preparation for a job!!! Therefore, they are good REACTIVE people and not good PROACTIVE people!!! They are good at shooting from the hip and responding to the pressure of the current situation!!! They can come up with 10,000 GREAT ideas, but they are never very well thought out or organized!!! Just the idea!!! The Melancholy and Phlegmatics are left to sort out the details and do the actual job, while Sanguine is off on his next 14

15 idea or third!!!!! They easily forget their resolutions, appointments, and obligations!!! They usually cannot be depended on to meet a time schedule or important deadline!!! A MOST DANGERIOUS problem is that they are prone to modify their moral principles and actions to match the crowd they are with at the present time!!! They have a hard time with loyalty!!! No temperament has a greater problem with LUST that the Sanguine!!! They are touchers and have charisma and charm that people are drawn to, and are often faced with sexual temptation. Unfortunately they do not have the strength of will to decline!!! Their ability to live in the present is a real danger in this temptation!!! Because they tend to think of the immediate and present temptation rather than the wife and family at home!!! Two verses are good: II Tim. 2:22 flee youthful lusts and Romans 13:14 make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill it s lusts 3. Egotistical Since they are very charming people, and appear more mature in their youth than they really are, they often get prominent positions early in life, which leads them to and magnifies the weakness of their natural egotism!!! They go overboard in their constant interruptions and dominating a conversation and it become very obnoxious to others!!! As they grow older, LOOK OUT, they talk more and more about themselves!!! And they are always preoccupied with things of interest to THEM!!! It s always ALL about THEM!!! 4. Emotionally Unstable A Sanguine is always in an emotional situation!!! Never far from tears or a huge belly laugh!!! They are very easily discouraged and feel sorry for themselves!!! They also excuse their Weaknesses. They can quickly fly off the handle and be livid with anger!!! BUT, after they have exploded, THEY forget all about it!!! YOU don t forget about it, but, THEY do!!! Sanguine NEVER GETS ulcers, he GIVES them to everyone else!!! Because of their emotional instability, they will feel genuinely sorry for their explosive outburst and will readily apologize!!! Then not understand WHY you are still upset with them, after all, they did apologize!!! They also are the Christian that will come forward and repent over and over for the very same sin!!! (Like Mr. Weir). 15

16 Sanguines (and ALL of the temperaments) greatest need is filling of the Holy Spirit!!! His best resource for his need of self- discipline is a strong and vital spiritual life!!! His primary SPIRITUAL NEEDS from Gal. 5 are 5 of the 9 Spiritual fruit. Temperance (self control) long-suffering faith Peace goodness 2. THE CHOLERIC: The admirable strengths of the Choleric carry with them some serious weaknesses!!! Most of their weaknesses are tied to their hard, angry, impetuous, and self-sufficient traits!!! Cholerics have a serious emotional deficiency. Some males may NEVER cry in their whole life!!! Some Choleric females may only cry when faced with the most extreme and desperate circumstances! 1. Hot-Tempered Most of the energy that causes the Choleric to succeed in his goals is generated from their hot tempered disposition!!! They can become violently angry at the drop of the hat!!! And, after exploding they very often carry a grudge!!! They have been known to go to ANY lengths to get even or repay an injustice toward them!!! This angry disposition makes them undesirable to even be around them!!! Cholerics often complain that nobody loves them!!! But, you reap what you sow!!! To be loved you must give love and they have a hard time showing that they love anyone!!! Many Cholerics get ulcers BEFORE they are 40 years old!!! They are the temperament that gives AND gets ulcers!!! Spiritually they grieve the Holy Spirit through bitterness, wrath, and anger!!! They are the Classic A Type Personality!!! They often die young because their body parts wear out from all the pressure and stress they create for themselves!!! 2. Cruel Christian compassion is foreign to the thick skinned Choleric!!! They are very unsympathetic to other people s dreams, other people s accomplishments, and other people s needs!!! They are also prone to run roughshod over the feelings and rights of other people in order to have their way and to achieve their own agenda!!! Unless they were taught strong moral standards in their youth, they will not hesitate to break the law or resort to crafty and conniving ways to succeed. They are notorious for thinking the end justifies the means. Many of the world s most 16

17 depraved criminals, dictators, and rulers have been Cholerics. It is very difficult for a Choleric to apologize or show approval to people. This has caused a lot of heartaches in their marriages. Some Choleric men physically beat their wives into submission; other Cholerics do it by using the club of disapproval, while other Cholerics simply use their vocabulary as their weapon of choice. Choleric women have been known to strike their husbands and beat them up in a fit of anger, even though they are even much smaller of frame!!! Other Choleric women can simply wither their husband away with their keen sarcastic tongue!!! Very few people that are married to un-spirit-filled Cholerics have a good self-image after 10 years of marriage to them because of the constant barrage on their psyche!!! 3. Impetuous (passion, anger, force, violence) The Cholerics ability to be decisive sometimes gets him into trouble!!! They may make a decision or launch a program that they regret, BUT, because they are so determined and proud, they stubbornly and tenaciously see the decision or program through to the very end!!! Their impetuous nature also causes them to just blurt out cruel, blunt, and sarcastic statements that are very hurtful to others!!! 4. Self-Sufficient Self-confident Cholerics tend to be independent and self-sufficient. Just a few successes in life can make them proud, haughty, and domineering and even more obnoxiously self-reliant. Because of this some people just shy away from them. People that are forced to live with or work with these Cholerics are often frustrated, because they feel like they can NEVER please the Choleric!!! Spiritually, the Choleric feels like he doesn t need God OR anybody for that matter!!! They see all their accomplishments as good deeds that far outweigh their bad deeds!!! If they are not saved as a child, it is ALMOST impossible for them to be saved!!! Also, it is difficult for the Choleric to realize that we MUST depend on the Lord, not self!!! They need to learn early in life that Zechariah 4:6 is in the Bible not by might, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. When they try to pray, study, or read God s Word and develop a Spiritual life, they have a difficult time of it because their overactive mind is already planning out the day s activities and schedule!!! Thus, they miss the Spiritual blessing that God has for them!!! As a matter of fact, most Cholerics think regular Devotions and prayer are a waste of their time!!! Choleric s need the greatest number of the 9 fruit of the Spirit in Gal. 5. They need 7. Love Joy Peace gentleness Long-suffering meekness goodness 17

18 3. THE MELANCHOLY: 1. Self-Centered Melancholy is more self-centered than any of the other traits!!! He is filled with self-examination and no one can please him, especially himself!!! This indecisive self-examination and self-contemplation literally paralyzes his will and energy!!! He is constantly dissecting and analyzing (or second guessing) himself. All this is harmful to him and causes him to drift into morbid mental conditions unless aided by the Holy Spirit!!! They are always overly concerned about their physical appearance, their spiritual condition, everything that concerns them and they can easily become a hypochondriac. This self-centered trait can literally ruin a Melancholy s life!!! When you compound this with his very sensitive nature, he can be so easily offended and insulted!!! He carries his feeling on his sleeve!!! He is VERY suspicious!!! If two people are talking across the room in hushed tones or a whisper, he just knows they are talking about HIM!!! Of course this leads many of them to have a persecution complex!!! 2. Pessimistic Being a perfectionist and analytical a Melancholy will be a pessimistic person!!! They can see the ultimate end of a project and every problem along the way!!! To them the bad far outweighs the good that could ever be accomplished!!! They also never trust or think that the end result that is promised will ever be as good s was promised!!! And since they HAVE been disappointed SO MANY times in the past, they just KNOW they will be disappointed once again!!! These people are never thankful praisers to the Lord for what they have, but go about life in self-pity for what they don t have!!! Their pessimistic outlook on life makes them fearful & indecisive. They just hate to be wrong and fall short of their own too high standards or God forbid become vulnerable to the criticism of others!!! No one is more CRITICAL than the Melancholy person!!! They have a hard time accepting less than the VERY BEST!!! They can ruin a perfectly good marriage because their partner or family only measures up to 90% of their high and lofty perfectionist expectations!!! Instead of seeing ALL THE GOOD, the Melancholy fixates on and amplifies the bad!!! This spirit of criticism even if not spoken out loud shows up in a proud haughty attitude that sees others as inferior, because they just simply DO NOT MEASURE UP to their standards!!! But remember, Melancholies are even more critical of themselves than they are of other people!!! They have VERY LITTLE TRUE JOY in their life!!! 18

19 Talking about marriage, Mr. or Ms. Melancholy have the most difficult time of any temperament in getting married because they tend to idolize someone at a distance, BUT, when they REALLY get to know a potential mate they find out that they are only human!!! They may really love someone, but will not marry them, because they have flaws and weaknesses!!! Many single men are bachelors simply because they are Melancholy and no one can be Ms. Perfect!!! ILLUSTRATION: Once I met Ms. Perfect, I just didn t realize her first name was Always!!! Many unmarried women will admit that they have had a number of opportunities to be married but Mr. Perfect just never came along and asked her!!! 3. Moody Melancholy s moods swing MORE than any other temperament!!! Sometimes they can fool you by acting like a Sanguine, but more often they will be down in the dumps an depressed for no given reason!!! Remember, these are the most gifted and intelligent people but they most often really get down on themselves!!! Friends get easily annoyed and disgusted with them!!! When the Melancholy senses this about a friend, he really plunges into depression and self-pity!!! He throws what I call an old fashion pity party!!! Melancholy will resort to daydreaming to escape their bad mood!!! Sometimes living out a fantasy or two!!! First from the good old days in the past to what could be in the future!!! This thought pattern paralyzes a person s will and energy and can definitely lead to schizophrenia if not properly directed!!! 4. Revengeful The Melancholy person may appear calm and quiet on the outside but they are often angry and resentful on the inside!!! They may NEVER think of putting their anger, hatred, or animosity into actions, like a Sanguine or Choleric, but, they may harbor their desire for revenge for years!!! They will let it build up and build up and develop so much resentment and hatred that all of a sudden they explode in a fit of rage by doing something totally weird or totally out of character for them, thereby surprising everyone that knows them!!! They have the most brilliant deductive ability but this unforgiving, revengeful spirit will cause them to make a decision based on prejudice not the facts!!! Some Melancholies have even been known to destroy another person s worthy project merely because the person leading the project offended them years ago!!! Mr. Melancholy has the greatest strengths and greatest potential of any of the temperaments BUT, they also have what could be the greatest weaknesses!!! There is NO AVERAGE JOE Melancholy. They either accentuate the strengths, and stand head and shoulders above their peers, OR, they are so dominated by their weaknesses that they sink below the level of their ability!!! And therefore 19

20 become neurotic, disconsolate, or a hypochondriac who no longer enjoys life or other people, and wallow in their self-hatred!!! Melancholies need to remember that MANY of the MOST outstanding people that God used in the Bible were predominately Melancholy in their temperament!!! Real faith in Christ can lift this person beyond their natural temperament!!! The primary Spiritual needs of the Melancholy are 6: (SEE I Thess. 5:18) Love joy peace Goodness faith self-control 4. THE PHLEGMATIC 1. Slow and Lazy Phlegmatics are extremely likeable by nature, but they have serious weaknesses!!! Their chief weakness is that they are prone to be slow and lazy!!! They are often accused of dragging their feet in a project. WHY??? Well, they resent being stimulated to action OR drug into action against their will!!! So they go along with you, but as slowly as they can!!! Their lack of motivation makes them a spectator most of their life!!! They are inclined to do as little as necessary!!! They are capable of thinking up and executing GREAT projects but, their natural tendencies keep them from going ahead and initiating any of them, because, it is just too much work involved!!! The restlessness of Sanguines and the activity of the Cholerics turn off the Phlegmatic and annoy him, because he doesn t want to be pushed into anything!!! 2. A Tease They have a keen sense of humor, most of it dry humor, and have the ability to be a detached observer!!! A Phlegmatic will find it easy to tease others who annoy him or those that threaten to motivate him!!! He thinks, just leave me alone!!! If a Sanguine enters a room all excited and bubbly, the Phlegmatic will act as cold as ice!!! If a Melancholy comes along all depressed and in misery, the Phlegmatic becomes more than ever and teases the Melancholy beyond endurance!!! If a Choleric enters the room with all kinds of plans and projects, the Phlegmatic takes great pride and satisfaction in throwing cold water on their enthusiasm, by pointing out all the weaknesses of the Cholerics ideas!!! *Frequently Phlegmatics use their humor and keen wit as a divisive tool to get Others stirred up and angry, while they never lose their composure or become excited!!! 20

21 3. Selfish & Stubborn Phlegmatics are naturally selfish with their money, with their efforts, and with their emotions!!! They may really love someone, but that person will never know it, because Phlegmatic will not let them know!!! Phlegmatic really works at not being over involved!!! They are generally stubborn, and oppose change of ANY kind!!! WHY, any change usually means WORK for them!!! Phlegmatics are usually conservative, especially when it comes to conserving their energy!!! Phlegmatics learn to disguise their stubbornness by their easygoing good humor, while they become even MORE stubborn!!! BUT, they are nice about their stubbornness!!! They will just smile and graciously not do what you want them to do!!! The Phlegmatics stubbornness and their natural selfishness combined make them stingy!!! They always want to know What s it going to cost ME?!!! What will this take out of ME???!!! Now, selfishness is a curse for each of the four temperaments, BUT, Phlegmatics are cursed with the biggest dose of it!!! 4. Indecisive As they get older, they get more indecisive, because of their practical and analytical ability; they can usually find a better way to do anything!!! BUT, they are real SLOW to come up with their own plans, and by the time they do get theirs together, some other temperament already has the group going full speed ahead on another plan!!! Even though Phlegmatics plans were better, he only half heartedly enters into the planning stage!!! He just gives the minimum effort needed!!! They are indecisive because they desire to be people pleasers!!! They have a GREAT sense of how things should be done, BUT, if they do it they feel they will surely offend someone!!! They are also indecisive because they weigh the plan and their involvement on whether they REALLY want to get involved or not!!! Between their really wanting to have a part and whether they are willing to pay the price in time and effort!!! The primary Spiritual needs of the Phlegmatic are: 5 of the fruit in Gal 5: Love goodness meekness Faith temperance (self-control in terms of motivation). 21

22 SUMMARY: Be careful not to be discouraged by your weaknesses!!! The Holy Spirit is ready and willing to help us overcome them!!! Circumstances do not have to dictate our reactions!!! Christians can overcome natural weaknesses and enhance their natural strengths through the supernatural filling of the Holy Spirit!!! Since our temperament determines how we act or react we need to consistently allow the Holy Spirit to direct our lives and lifestyle!!! 22

23 Chapter 4 Sanguine Peter Hebrews 12: 1-3 & Galatians 5:22-23 Sanguine Peter is probably the best loved Character in the New Testament!!! Why?!!! Because he is such a wonderful EXTROVERT!!! Peter is loveable and laughable one minute and disgusting the very next minute!!! He is warm, friendly, outgoing and draws people like a magnet with his built-in charisma. Peter is THE MOST Sanguine Character in the Bible and that is why I chose him for our study!!! He is a good talker, a happy go lucky optimist, the life of the party, generous, and, compassionate!!! But, he does have some natural weaknesses!!! He is weak willed emotionally unstable, explosive, restless, and egotistical. He has great difficulty following up on the details of anything!!! He is NEVER quiet!!! And, under his exterior, he is really insecure and fearful!! This kind of person makes a good salesman, speaker, actor, and less frequently, LEADERS!!! This kind of leader will drive you up a wall with all his boundless energy and enthusiasm for one new project after another, BUT, never finishing ANY of them!!! ALL of Sanguine Peter s faults lie in the heat of his heart!!! He was governed by his emotions and was too hot-hearted, too impulsive, and, too enthusiastic!!! His foot was always in his mouth!!! The Sanguine is the only Temperament that has trouble identifying which temperament he is!!! We are going to look at the difference in Peter, when he was filled with himself, and then when he was filled with the Holy Spirit!!! I. NOW A LOOK AT when he was filled with himself (in the flesh): 1. He was IMPULSIVE: He was a boisterous, profane, and opinionated fisherman!!! He became the spokesman of the Disciples because of this impulsiveness!!! In Matthew he straightway dropped his nets and followed Jesus!!! In Mark 1:29, when they traveled near Peter s home, he impulsively invited them all into his home, even though his mother-in-law was very sick and in the bed!!! In Matthew 14, he is seen actually walking on the water. Sanguines have a tendency to leap before they look, and then become very fearful at the consequences!!! But when filled with the Holy Spirit, this same man will be peaceful and self-controlled while waiting on the Lord!!! When Sanguine Peter doesn t know what to do, HE TALKS!!! 23

24 IE: on the Mount of Transfiguration!!! Lord it is good to be here. Peter meant well, BUT, he should have been listening, NOT TALKING!!! IE: In the Garden of Gethsemane, he drew out his sword!!! IE: Peter outran John to the empty tomb, and just barged right on in!!! Peter went away sorrowful and confused about what might have really happened!!! IE: After the resurrection, Peter said, I go fishing. Sanguine Peter s problem, he just didn t think!!! Sanguines are activists NOT thinkers!!! When the pressure is on them, they MUST DO something, so they usually talk!!! They jump from one thing to the other and have a SHORT interest span in anything!!! 2. He Was UNINHIBITED: Sanguines love to please people and delight in accommodating them!!! They will often do just about anything rather than disappoint someone!!! Therefore they will do whatever comes into his mind at the moment!!! People mis-read Mr. Sanguine as think they are a hypocrite and insincere, BUT, this is N OT the case at all!!! They are probably the most sincere and transparent of the Temperaments!!! 3. He Was OUTSPOKEN: Sanguine Peter always had an impulsive tongue!!! Matthew 16:13-20 Jesus asked who men thought He was!!! Peter blurted out, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. You see Sanguines respond enthusiastically to heart motivation!!! Yes Sanguine Peter was all heart and was ruled by his heart!!! When it was fixed on Jesus he was 100% right!!! BUT, if it was fixed on self or others, he was ALWAYS wrong!!! 4. He Was EGOTISTICAL: Peter just couldn t stand success; it always went to his head!!! He alone was the Disciple that even thought of rebuking the Lord Jesus, just after the Lord had bragged on him!!! When Jesus began to train His Disciples for the reason He came to earth (ie. To die), Peter was shocked and rejected the Lord s death so much, he apparently missed it when the Lord promised to rise again on the third day!!! All this gave Peter the MOST SEVERE rebuke from Jesus while He was on the 24

25 earth!!! Jesus saiad, Get thee behind me Satan. Thou art an offense to me.!!!!!!!! Knowing Sanguine Peter, his spirit had to be crushed at this statement from the Lord!!! After something like this he probably did like most Sanguines that get rebuked and moped around for a while!!! This egotism and pride made Peter vulnerable to Satan s attacks!!! What the Sanguine needs is to humble himself to the Lord!!! When we harbor pride, we quench the inward working of the Holy Spirit!!! 5. He Was SELF-SEEKING: Mr. Sanguine is very generous and if he sees someone in need his response is one of compassion!!! Sanguines are also very insecure. The anxiety in this combination and his desire for prominence caused Peter to make a selfish request!!! Matthew 19:27 tells us that Peter said, Lord we have forsaken all, and followed thee. WHAT SHALL WE HAVE, THEREFORE? This was a very selfish though, BUT, only Sanguine Peter verbalized it!!! He was the first Century status seeker!!! WHAT am I going to get out of this???!!! 6. He Was A BRAGGART: Whatever Mr. Sanguine does, he has to be the best!!! He is always bragging and/or exaggerating!!!!!! If you give Mr. Sanguine enough rope he will hang himself!!! Remember when Jesus told the Disciples in the upper room that all would be offended? It was blustering Peter that - Matt. 26:31 though all men shall be offended, yet, will I NEVER be offended!!! I really believe that Peter was very sincere!!! Sanguines get blamed for not being sincere, BUT, they really are!!! They are always quick to make promises and commitments, but, he has a hard time fulfilling his promises and commitments!!! As a matter of fact, he will OVER commit!!! 7. He Was WEAK-WILLED: Mr. Sanguine MEANS well!!! But he has a real problem in that his will is weak!!! Some think a Sanguine is weak in character or just all mouth because he folds up under pressure!!! When the going gets tough, so does Mr. Sanguine!!! They will even lie under pressure rather than face the shame or pressure of a situation!!! BUT, he WILL be sorry immediately, BUT, it is too late!!! This person really live a 25

26 stress filled life and is usually in crisis mode. Mr. Sanguine is the most susceptible Temperament to sexual temptation, or for that matter, temptation of any kind, because he is the person that lives in the present!!! He is motivated by his environment!!! But, Sanguines short memory ultimately gets him in trouble because he can t remember who he told what!!! Mr. Sanguine is totally relieved when he finally gets caught!!! The reason is, he cannot stand the pressure!!! He is quick to repent with profuse tears!!! Mr. Sanguine cannot be trusted, but worse than that, he can t trust himself!!! He is quick to make restitution and to repent!!! 8. Peter s DENIAL: Shakespeare wrote, The good that men do are oft interred within their bones, and the bad that men do lives on after them. Well it is a shame that Mr. Sanguine really does a lot of good things in life, BUT, we remember him for his BAD actions!!! With Peter, it is HIS DENIAL OF OUR LORD!!! All 4 of the Gospels tell of this tragedy!!! Mr. Sanguine needs the warmth of good Christian fellowship because he is moved by his environment!!! In Peter, we see that God can take a spineless lump of clay and fashion it into a mighty man of God!!! Peter s first problem, he left the safety of the group of Disciples and joined in with the company of the enemy!!! John 18:18 tells how he warmed himself at the fire of the enemy!!! The pressure of this group was too much for Peter and he denied the Lord three times, finally cursing and denying the Lord, whom he truly loved!!! Peter s quick reaction was a typical Sanguine!!! He went out and wept bitterly. Only TWO of the Temperaments are given to crying, Sanguine and Melancholy!!! This is in no way lesson their manhood, it simple reveals how deep their feelings run and how they are moved by feelings and able to express emotion!!! In John s last chapter, Jesus comes to Peter in a very tender scene!!! Lovest thou me? THREE times!!! Jesus uses the word for love of agape. A deep love like God has for mankind!!! Peter is remorseful and uses the word, for like. After the third time the Lord asked Peter, I believe Peter knew he couldn t trust himself without completely depending on the Holy Spirit of God to enable him!!! THIS IS SANGUINES GREATEST NEED!!! TO DEPEND ONLY ON THE HOLY SPIRIT!!! 9. Peter s INCONSISTENCY: One of Sanguines greatest problems is his inconsistency!!! Sanguine s life is a life of extremes!!! One minute he is on fire for the Lord, the next he is cold as an 26

27 ice burg!!! This also makes him disgusted with himself!!! Filling of the Holy Spirit is not immediate for the Sanguine, it is a GROWTH process!!! Only as we mature in Christ and are controlled by the Holy Spirit does the NEW man control the OLD man!!! We shall see that the true change that comes in Peter s life did not eliminate his temperament, but it did modify it!!! As we are filled by the Holy Spirit our weaknesses are modified by our strengths!!! II. NOW LET S LOOK AT THE NEW SPIRIT-FILLED APOSTLE: Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive powe,r AFTER that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: 1. Peter s Filling of the Holy Spirit!!! The FIRST sign of change in Simon Peter was in Acts 1:15when Peter stood up in the middle of the believers, apparently a funeral service for Judas, and preached a Spirit-filled message based on the Word of God!!! The stumbling, inconsistent, and emotionally unstable Sanguine Simon Peter was transformed into a Spirit-filled Preacher that the first 15 chapters of Acts focus on!!! Sanguines make good speakers, BUT, only a Spirit-filled Sanguine makes good preachers!!! Under the flesh s power Sanguines will speak about I all the time, BUT, under the control of the Holy Spirit, they will glorify Jesus Christ!!! 2. Peter s Consistency: Acts 3 assures us that the Holy-Spirit filling of Peter was genuine!!! Spiritual discipline is VERY difficult for a Sanguine, and here he is going to the House of God at the time of prayer!!! A prayer meeting is only attractive to Sanguine IF he is filled with the Holy Spirit!!! Acts 4:4 - Peter in no way seeks to glorify himself here!!! He says silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I unto thee. HE IS GIVING ALL THE GLORY TO THE LORD!!! Not himself!!! 3. Peter s Courage: Just a short time ago, Peter had denied the Lord, now in Acts 4 he has courage to stand before the very ones who crucified Jesus and preach with boldness and answered all their charges!!! Acts 4:8 again tells us that he was filled with the Holy Spirit!!! He was not up tight, he was relaxed!!! When we know the power is from the Holy Spirit, not in the power of the flesh, we CAN be relaxed!!! 27