Temperaments 201
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Each temperament has its strengths and weaknesses. It’s good to be tenacious, stubborn not so much; hard-working turns into workaholic; easygoing pushed too far is laziness; being neat taken to an extreme is perfectionism. As people we have human nature pulling us toward the baser traits. The only person who consistently walked in His strengths is Jesus–a motivator but never a manipulator, direct but not tactless, laid back but not a pushover, sensitive but not moody. Jesus has all of the strengths of each temperament and none of the weaknesses. As Christians, when we give our lives to God, He helps us gain victory over the old human nature and walk in the new nature we have in Christ. We continuously get better at living in our strengths.
Overview
Name Associated One Major General Designation
. Animal Trait
Melancholy Beaver Perfect naturally gifted
Phlegmatic Golden Retriever Peaceful loyal friend
Choleric Lion Powerful achiever
Sanguine Otter Popular life of the party
Blends
Another factor to take into consideration is that everyone is a unique blend of the four temperaments. Usually, one temperament is prevailing with a strong second and a few of the remaining two. I am mostly sanguine with a high level of choleric. I get ideas all the time and start projects and I struggle like most of my fellow sanguines to finish half of what I begin! However, the drive of the choleric makes this much easier for me to overcome. My husband is heavily melancholy which leads him to high standards and the tendency to become depressed when lofty goals are not reached. Thankfully his choleric drive helps to keep him striving for those goals without sinking into depression.
Opposites Attract
If you take time to think about it, you will probably realize that the people closest to you tend to be the opposite temperament that you are. Your spouse and closest friends generally end up being one temperament that compliments yours. That is because they naturally fill in the places where you might lack and you do the same for them.
A shy person may enjoy being around someone who interacts a lot. An indecisive person is helped by someone who takes charge. A scatterbrained dreamer is kept from being lost in the clouds by a practical planner and they in turn liven up the list-making life of the other.
Natural opposites are: Choleric–Phlegmatic and Melancholy–Sanguine.
Applying Scripture to the Temperaments
The Scriptures that come to mind when I think about the temperament theory are Galatians 6:2, “Carry one another’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ,” and Romans 12:18, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Let’s look a practical example: if a friend is in the hospital, a sanguine will likely be thrilled to have friends come and visit and just sit with them, a choleric may be more comforted by you bringing meals to their family or cleaning their house while they are laid up, but a melancholy might not want anyone else cleaning for them since only they know how to do it “right”! It might end up being more of a burden to them than the burden being born for them!
It might not be helpful in getting along with everyone to encourage your phlegmatic friend to help with the fundraising committee when they struggle with making decisions that are not optional for their life. A choleric in charge of others should realize that it might work better to give the cholerics under them an area to take charge of on their own and the sanguines a list of directions to follow.
What have you found interesting in discussing this temperament theory?
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