Through doing the personality tests and motivational gifts tests the idea and the hope is that you get this appreciation of how cool God has made you to be. That fearfully wonderfully made thing again and that sets you alight to love God more and receive His love more and overflow from that.
A person’s physical appearance can change dramatically over the years, but our personality is in a way ingrained for a lifetime. Through the work of the Holy Spirit each person’s inborn weaknesses can be overcome, and our strengths put to use, but the underlying personality remains relatively the same.
I think that these classifications are excellent and helpful in understanding why people act the way they do – people being us and people being other people around us.
By understanding how we’re wired we can then see how others are wired, either in similar ways or different ways. Knowing who you are and how you are wired can actually give you strategies to effectively connect and communicate with others – which is a good thing since this planet is filled with PEOPLE!
Okay… so personality types…
Generally there are 4 types – they can be called many different things:
Sanguine – playful, popular, otter, expressive
Choleric – powerful, lion, dominant
Melancholic – precise, beaver, analytical
Phlegmatic – peaceful, golden retriever, solid
· Choleric- This personality likes to lead. The Choleric is good at making decisions and is very goal-oriented. They enjoy challenges, difficult assignments, and opportunity for advancement. Because Cholerics are thinking of the goal, they can step on people to reach it. Cholerics can be very aggressive and competitive. Cholerics must learn not to be too bossy or to take charge in other’s affairs.
Biblical Example: Paul
Case Study: Acts 9:3-19
Strength: Goal-oriented, strong, direct
Weakness: Argumentative, too dictatorial
Limitation: Doesn’t understand that directness can hurt others, hard time expressing grace
The Choleric is the powerful person who wants to take control of every situation and make decisions for others. Choleric love to work.
· Sanguine – Sanguines are very social creature. Sanguine personalities love people. They enjoys being popular and influencing and motivating others. Sanguine can sometimes be hurt when people do not like them. Sanguine personalities usually have lots of friends, but not deep relationships. They love to goof-off. (They are notorious for messy rooms.) Sanguines like to hurry and finish jobs. (Jobs are not often done well.) The otter personality is like Tigger in Winnie The Pooh.
Biblical Example: Peter
Case Study: John 21:1-22
Strength: People person, open, positive
Weakness: Talks too much, too permissive
Limitation: Remembering past commitments, follow through with discipline
The Sanguine is the popular person who wants to have fun out of every situation and be the life of the party. Sanguine love to talk.
· Phlegmatic – Good at making friends. Very loyal. Phlegmatic personalities do not like big changes. They look for security. Can be very sensitive. Very caring. Has deep relationships, but usually only a couple of close friends. Wants to be loved by everyone. Looks for appreciation. Works best in a limited situation with a steady work pattern.
Biblical Example: Abraham
Case Study: Genesis 12-22
Strength: Accommodating, calm, affirming
Weakness: Indecisive, indifferent, unable to express emotional, too soft on other people
Limitation: Seeing the need to be more assertive, holding others accountable
The Phlegmatic is the peaceful person who wants to stay out of trouble, keep life on an even keel, and get along with everybody. Phlegmatics like to rest.
· Melancholic – Organized. Melancholics think that there is a right way to do everything and they want to do it exact that way. Melancholic personalities are very creative. They desire to solve everything. Desire to take their time and do it right. Melancholics do not like sudden changes. They need reassurance.
Biblical Example: Moses
Case Study: Exodus 3-4
Strength: High standards, order, respect
Weakness: Unrealistic expectations of self & others, too perfect.
Limitation: Seeing the optimistic side of things, expressing flexibility
The Melancholy is the perfect person who wants everything done in order and done properly and who appreciates art and music. Melancholies love to analyze.
“No one temperament can be said to be better than another. Each one contains strengths and richness, yet each one is fraught with its own weaknesses and dangers.” -Tim LayHaye, in Spirit-Controlled Temperament
see I AM CALLED #5 HERE, see I AM CALLED #4 HERE, see I AM CALLED #3 HERE, see I AM CALLED #2 HERE, see I AM CALLED #1 HERE
4 comments
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December 16, 2011 at 1:26 am
sergeimakarenko
Good post! Blessings!
December 16, 2011 at 1:31 am
fireball3316
thanks
)
December 18, 2011 at 4:38 am
mattsmithis
I’ve really enjoyed this series and the I am Called series. You really do have a gift for teaching and writing.
December 18, 2011 at 4:45 am
fireball3316
thanks matt, that is a really encouraging (and humbling!) compliment!
there will be more to come next year in the series too
) thanks for reading